LECTIO DIVINA MARCH 2025

LECTIO DIVINA MARCH 2025

Saturday, March 1, 2025

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Monday, March 3, 2025

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Friday, March 7, 2025

Saturday, March 8, 2025

Sunday, March 9, 2025

Monday, March 10, 2025

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Friday, March 14, 2025

Saturday, March 15, 2025

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Monday, March 17, 2025

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Friday, March 21, 2025

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Monday, March 24, 2025

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Thursday, March 27, 2025

Friday, March 28, 2025

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Monday, March 31, 2025

1

Saturday, March 1, 2025

Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer

Father, keep before us the wisdom and love You have revealed in Your Son. Help us to be like Him in word and deed, for He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel Reading - Mark 10: 13-16

People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." Then he embraced the children and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

Reflection

The Gospel of two days ago indicated the advice of Jesus concerning the relationship of the adults with little ones and with the excluded (Mk 9: 41-50). Yesterday’s Gospel indicated the advice on the relationship between man and woman, husband and wife (Mk 10: 1-12). Today’s Gospel indicates the advice on the relationship between parents and sons. Jesus asked for the greatest acceptance for the little ones and the excluded. In the relationship man-woman, He asked for the greatest equality. Now, with the sons and their mother, He asks for the greatest tenderness.

• Mark 10: 13-16 - Receive the Kingdom like a child. People brought little children to Him, for Him to touch them. The disciples wanted to prevent this. Why? The text does not say it. Perhaps because according to the ritual norms of the time, the small children with their mothers lived almost constantly the legal impurity. To touch them meant to become impure! If they touched Jesus, He would become impure! But Jesus does not feel uncomfortable with this ritual norm of legal purity. He corrects the disciples and welcomes the mothers with the children. He touches them, embraces them saying: “Let the little children come to me, do not stop them: for it is to such as these that the Kingdom of God belongs.” And He comments: “In truth I tell you, anyone who does not accept the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And then Jesus embraces the children and blesses them and laid His hands on them. What does this phrase mean? (a) The children receive everything from their parents. They cannot merit what they receive but live from gratuitous love. (b) The parents receive the children as a gift from God and take care of them with the greatest possible love. The concern of the parents is not to dominate the children, but to love them, educate them in a way in which they can grow and be fulfilled! This is the relationship we have with our Father in Heaven! We must be just like these children.

• A sign of the Kingdom - To welcome the little ones and the excluded. There are many signs of the acting presence of the Kingdom in the life and the activity of Jesus. One of these is the way of welcoming, of accepting the little ones and the children:

• To welcome them and not scandalize them. One of the hardest words of Jesus was against those who cause scandal to the little ones, that is, who are the reason so that the little ones no longer believe in God. For them it is better to have a millstone hung round their neck and be thrown into the sea (Mk 9: 42; Lk 17: 2; Mt 18: 6).

• To identify oneself with the little ones. Jesus embraces the little ones and identifies Himself with them. Anyone who receives a child, “receives Me” (Mk 9: 37). “And as long as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to Me.” (Mt 25: 40).

• To become like children. Jesus asks the disciples to become like children and to accept the Kingdom as they do. Otherwise, it is not possible to enter into the Kingdom (Mk 10: 15; Mt 18: 3; Lk 9:4 6-48). He makes the children teachers of adults! And that is not normal. Generally, we do the contrary.

• To defend the right that children have to shout and yell. When Jesus, entering into the Temple, turned over the tables of the money changers, the children were those who shouted the most: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Mt 21: 15). Criticized by the high priests and by the Scribes, Jesus defends them and in defending them He recalls the Scriptures (Mt 21: 16).

• To be pleasing for the Kingdom present in little children. Jesus’ joy is great, when He perceives that the children, the little ones, understand the things of the Kingdom which He announced to the people.“ “I bless you, Father!” (Mt 11: 25-26). Jesus recognizes that the little ones understand the things of the Kingdom better than the doctors!

• To welcome, accept and take care. Many are the little children and the young whom Jesus accepts, takes care of and raises from the death: the daughter of Jairus who was 12 years old (Mk 5: 41-42), the daughter of the Canaanite woman (Mk 7: 29-30), the son of the widow of Nain (Lk 7: 14-15), the epileptic boy (Mk 9: 25-26), the son of the Centurion (Lk 7: 9-10), the son of the public officer (Jn 4: 50), the boy with the five loaves of bread and two fish (Jn 6: 9).

Personal Questions

• In our society and in our community, who are the little ones and the excluded? How do we welcome and accept them?

• What have I learned in my life from children concerning the Kingdom of God?

• There are so many ways modern adults are not like children. What can I do to become more child-like for the Father and in relation to my peers; imitative, obedient, humble, grateful, innocent? Do I even want to?

• I place myself as innocent, obedient, humble, and grateful into my world of friends, my business, recreation and my responsibilities. What happens? How am I perceived by the world around me? If I continue to be this way, how would this make a better world?

Concluding Prayer

Yahweh, I am calling, hurry to Me, listen to my voice when I call to You. May my prayer be like incense in Your presence, my uplifted hands like the evening sacrifice. (Ps 141: 1-2)

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer

God our Father, You redeem us and make us Your children in Christ. Look upon us, give us true freedom and bring us to the inheritance You promised. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Gospel Reading - Luke 6: 39-42

Jesus told his disciples a parable: "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,' when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye."

Reflection

Today’s Gospel gives us some of the passages of the discourse which Jesus pronounced on the plain after having spent the night in prayer (Lk 6: 12) and after He had called the twelve to be His apostles (Lk 6: 13-14). Many of the sayings in this discourse had already been pronounced on other occasions, but Luke, imitating Matthew, puts them together in this Sermon on the Plain.

• Luke 6: 39: The parable of the blind man who guides another blind man. Jesus tells a parable to the disciples: “Can a blind man guide another blind man? Will not both of them fall into a hole?” A parable of one line, quite similar to the warnings which, in Matthew’s Gospel, are addressed to the Pharisees: “Alas for you, blind guides!” (Mt 23: 16-17, 19, 24, 26) Here in the context of the Gospel of Luke, this parable is addressed to the animators of the communities who consider themselves the masters of truth, superior to others and because of this, they are blind guides.

• Luke 6: 40: Disciple – Master. “The disciple is not greater than the teacher, but the well-prepared disciple will be like the teacher” Jesus is the Master, not the professor. The professor in class teaches different subjects but does not live with the pupils. The Master or Lord does not teach lessons; he lives with the pupils. His subject matter is himself, his life witness, his way of living the things that he teaches. Living together with the Master, the Lord has three aspects:

(1) the Master is the model or example to be imitated (cf. Jn 13: 13-15).

(2) The disciple not only contemplates and imitates, he commits himself to the same destiny of the Master, with his temptations (Lk 22: 28), his persecution (Mt 10: 24-25), his death (Jn 11: 16);

(3) He not only imitates the model, he not only assumes the commitment, but arrives at identifying himself with Him: “I live, but it is not I who live, but Christ lives in me!” (Gal 2: 20). This third aspect is the mystical dimension of the following of Jesus, fruit of the action of the Spirit.

• Luke 6: 41-42: The splinter in the brother’s eye. “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the great log in your own? How can you say to your brother: ‘Brother, let me take out that splinter in your eye, when you cannot see the great log in your own? Hypocrite! Take the log out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter in your brother’s eye.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew treats the same theme and explains a bit better the parable of the splinter in the eye. Jesus asks for a creative attitude which will make us capable of going and encountering others without judging them, without preconceptions and rationalizing, but accepting the brother (Mt 7: 1-5). This total openness toward others considering them as brothers/sisters will arise in us only when we are capable of relating to God with total trust as His children (Mt 7: 7-11).

Personal Questions

• Splinter and log in the eye. How do I relate with others at home and in my family, in work and with my colleagues, in community and with the brothers and sisters?

• Master and disciple. How am I a disciple of Jesus?

Concluding Prayer

Lord, how blessed are those who live in Your house; they shall praise You continually. Blessed those who find their strength in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. (Ps 84: 4-5)

Monday, March 3, 2025

Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer

Lord, guide the course of world events and give Your Church the joy and peace of serving You in freedom. You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel Reading - Mark 10: 17-27

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother."

He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement, his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. So, Jesus again said to them in reply, "Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! 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." They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For men it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God."

Reflection

The Gospel today narrates two events: (a) it tells the story of a rich man who asks how to obtain eternal life (Mk 10: 17-22), and (b) Jesus warns on the danger of riches (Mk 10: 23-27). The rich man does not accept the proposal of Jesus because he was very rich. A rich person believes he is protected by the security which is given to him by his riches. He has difficulty opening his hand and detaching himself from this security. He seizes the advantage of his goods and lives being concerned about defending his own interests. A poor person is not accustomed with this concern. But there may also be some poor people who have the mentality of the rich. Then, the desire for riches creates in them dependence and makes them become slaves of consumerism. They have no time to dedicate themselves to the service of neighbor. Keeping these problems in mind, problems of persons and of countries, let us read and meditate on the text of the rich man.

• Mark 10: 17-19 - The observance of the commandments and eternal life. A person came up to Jesus and asked: “Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” The Gospel of Matthew tells us that it was the case of a young man (Mt 19: 20-22). Jesus responds abruptly: “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but God alone!” Jesus takes away the attention from Himself to direct it toward God, because what is important is to do God’s will, to reveal the Father’s plan. Then Jesus affirms: “You know the commandments: You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false witness. You shall not defraud. Honor your father and mother.” It is important to always observe the response of Jesus. The young man had asked something concerning eternal life. He wanted to live together with God. But Jesus does not mention the first three commandments which define our relationship with God! He mentioned only those which indicate respect for the life lived together with others. According to Jesus, we can only be well with God if we know how to be well with our neighbor. It serves nothing to deceive ourselves. The door to reach God is our neighbor.

• Mark 10: 20 - What good is it to observe the commandments? The young man answered that he observed the commandments since his earliest days. What is strange is what follows. He wanted to know which was the way to eternal life. Now, the way of life was, and continues to be, to do God’s will expressed in the commandments. It means that he observed the commandments without knowing for what purpose. Otherwise, he would not have asked any questions. This is what can happen today to many Catholics: they do not know what it means to be Catholic. “I was born in a Catholic country; this is why I am Catholic!” It is mindless!

• Mark 10: 21-22 - To share the goods with the poor and to follow Jesus. Hearing the response of the young man, “Jesus looked at him and was full of love for him and said: You need to do one more thing: go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor and you will have a treasure in heaven, then come, follow Me!” The observance of the commandments is only the first step of a stairway that goes higher. Jesus asks more! The observance of the commandments prepares the person for the total gift of self on behalf of neighbor. Jesus asks for much, but he asks it with much love. The rich young man does not accept the proposal of Jesus and goes away not just because he was a man of great wealth, but because he valued that wealth above all others.

• Mark 10: 23-27 - The camel and the eye of the needle. After the young man left, Jesus commented on His decision: “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were astounded. Jesus repeats the same phrase and adds: “It is easier that a camel passes through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

• The expression “enter the kingdom” not only indicates in the first-place entrance into heaven after death, but also and above all, the entrance into the community around Jesus. The community is and should be a model of the Kingdom. The reference to the impossibility for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle comes from a popular proverb of the time used by the people to say that a thing was, humanly speaking, impossible and unfeasible.

The disciples were astounded by hearing this and they ask themselves: “Then who can be saved?” This is a sign that they had not understood the response of Jesus to the young rich man: “Go, sell all you all you own and give the money to the poor and then come follow me.”

The young man had observed the commandments since his earliest days, but without understanding the reason for this observance. Something similar was happening to the disciples. They had already abandoned all their goods as Jesus had asked the young rich man, but without understanding the reason, the why of this abandonment. If they had understood, they would not have been astounded at the demands of Jesus. When riches, or the desire for riches, occupies the heart and the gaze, the person cannot perceive the sense of the Gospel. Only God can help! Jesus looks at the disciples and says: “Impossible for man but not for God. For God everything is possible.”

Personal Questions

• Can someone who lives constantly concerned about her wealth, or who lives always wanting to buy all the things the television advertises, free herself from everything to follow Jesus and live in peace in a Christian community? Is it possible? How do you do it and what are the steps?

• Do you know somebody who has succeeded in abandoning everything for the sake of the Kingdom? What does it mean for us today: “Go, sell all you own, and give the money to the poor”? How can we understand and practice this?

• Does this instruct communities as well, or just individuals? How would a community “abandon everything” and still carry on its mission?

Concluding Prayer

I give thanks to Yahweh with all my heart, in the meeting-place of honest people, in the assembly. Great are the deeds of Yahweh, to be pondered by all who delight in them. (Ps 111: 1-2) to the living God. (Ps 84: 2)

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Ordinary Time

Opening Prayer

Lord,

guide the course of world events

and give Your Church the joy and peace of serving You in freedom.

You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel Reading - Mark 10: 28-31

Peter began to say to Jesus, "We have given up everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first."

Reflection

• In yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus spoke about the conversation among the disciples about material goods: to get away from things, to sell everything, to give it to the poor and to follow Jesus. Or rather, like Jesus, they should live in total gratuity, placing their own life in the hands of God, serving the brothers and sisters (Mk 10: 17-27). In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains how this life of gratuity and service of those who abandon everything for Him, for Jesus and for the Gospel, should be (Mk 10: 28-31).

• Mark 10: 28-31: A hundred times as much, as well as persecutions too. Peter observes: “We have left everything and followed You.” It is like saying: “We have done what the Lord asked of the young rich man. We have abandoned everything, and we have followed You. Explain to us how our life should be.” Peter wants Jesus to explain more of the new way of living in service and gratuity. The response from Jesus is beautiful, profound, and symbolic: “In truth there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or land for My sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times as much, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land, with persecutions too, now in the present time and in the world to come. Many who are first will be last and the last, first.” The type of life which springs from the gift of everything is an example of the Kingdom which Jesus wants to establish (a) to extend the family and to create community; it increases a hundred times the number of brothers and sisters. (b) It produces the sharing of goods because all will have a hundred times more houses and land. Divine Providence incarnates itself and passes through the fraternal organization, where everything belongs to everyone and there are no longer persons who are in need. They put into practice the Law of God which asks, “that there be no poor among you” (Dt 15: 4-11). This was what the first Christians did (Acts 2: 42- 45). It is the perfect living out of service and gratuity. (c) They should not expect any privilege in return, no security, no type of promotion. Rather, in this life they will have all this, but with persecutions. Because in this world, organized on ego and the special interests of groups and people, those who want to live a gratuitous love and the gift of self will be crucified as Jesus was. (d) They will be persecuted in this world, but in the future world they will have eternal life, which the rich young man spoke about.

• Jesus is the choice of the poor. A two-fold slavery characterized the situation of the people of the time of Jesus: the slavery from the politics of Herod supported by the Roman Empire and maintained by a well-organized system of exploitation and repression, and the slavery of the official religion, maintained by the religious authority of the time. This is why the clan, the family, the community, were all being disintegrated, and a great number of the people were excluded, marginalized, homeless, and having no place in religion or in society. This is why several movements arose which were seeking a new way of living in community: the Essene, the Pharisees, and later on, the Zealots. In the community of Jesus there was something new which made it different from other groups. It was the attitude toward the poor and the excluded. The communities of the Pharisees lived separated. The word “Pharisee” means “separated.” They lived separated from impure people. Many Pharisees considered people ignorant and cursed (Jn 7: 49), and in sin (Jo 9: 34). Jesus and His community, on the contrary, lived together with these excluded persons who were considered impure: publicans, sinners, prostitutes, and lepers (Mk 2: 16; 1: 41; Lk 7: 37). Jesus recognizes the richness and the values which the poor possess (Mt 11: 25-26; Lk 21: 1-4). He proclaims them blessed, because the Kingdom is theirs - it belongs to the poor (Lk 6: 20; Mt 5: 3). He defines His mission: “to proclaim the Good News to the poor” (Lk 4: 18). He himself lives as a poor person. He possesses nothing for Himself, not even a rock where to lay His head (Lk 9: 58). And to those who want to follow Him to share His life, He tells them to choose: God or money! (Mt 6: 24). He orders that they choose in favor of the poor! (Mk 10: 21). The poverty which characterized the life of Jesus and the disciples also characterized the mission. Contrary to other missionaries (Mt 23: 15), the disciples of Jesus could take nothing with them, neither gold, nor money, nor two tunics, nor purse, nor sandals (Mt 10:9-10). They had to trust in the hospitality offered to them (Lk 9: 4; 10: 5-6). If they would be accepted by the people, they should work like everybody else and live from what they would receive as wages for their work (Lk 10: 7-8). They should take care of the sick and those in need (Lk 10: 9; Mt 10: 8). Now they could tell the people: “The Kingdom of God is very near to you!” (Lk 10: 9).

Personal questions

• In your life, how do you practice as Peter did: “We have left everything and have followed you”?

• Gratuitous sharing, service, acceptance to the excluded, are signs of the Kingdom. What do I do to live this? When do I do it? Can there be more?

• Look inside. What is the real motivation? Is it from love, or for gain? Is it a “transaction,” gaining extra “credits” for the next life? Is pride involved? Are there other reasons?

• Worldy wisdom teaches one has to be powerful, a “mover and shaker,” to influence others. How does one influence others when they have given away everything and in the world’s eyes are poor? At what point, or in what way, would one’s poverty speak louder and be more influential?

Concluding Prayer

The whole wide world has seen the saving power of our God.

Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth, burst into shouts of joy! (Ps 98: 3-4)

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Ash Wednesday

Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that You read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible, You helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of Your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.

Create in us silence so that we may listen to Your voice in creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May Your word guide us so that we, too, like the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, may experience the force of Your resurrection and witness to others that You are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice, and peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, Son of Mary, who revealed to us the Father and sent us Your Spirit. Amen.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18

A Key to the Reading:

The Gospel of Ash Wednesday is taken from the Sermon on the Mount and offers us help in understanding the practice of the three works of mercy: prayer, almsgiving and fasting and the way to spend the time of Lent well. The manner of practicing these three works has changed over the centuries, according to the culture and customs of people and their state of health. Old people today still remember when there was a strict and compulsory fast of forty days throughout Lent. In spite of changes in the practice of the works of mercy, there still is the human and Christian obligation (i) to share our goods with the poor (almsgiving), (ii) to live in contact with the Creator (prayer) and (iii) to be able to control our urges and desires (fasting). The words of Jesus on which we meditate can give us the necessary creativity to find new forms of living these three practices so important in the life of Christians.

A Division of the Text to Assist in the Reading:

• Matthew 6: 1: A general key to the understanding of the teaching that follows

•  Matthew 6: 2: How not to go about almsgiving

• Matthew 6: 3-4: How to go about almsgiving

•  Matthew 6: 5: How not to pray

• Matthew 6: 6: How to pray

• Matthew 6: 16: How not to fast

•  Matthew 6: 17-18: How to fast

Text:

Jesus said to his disciples: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect t ir appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say he to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."

A Moment of Prayerful Silence

so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.

Some Questions

to help us in our personal reflection.

• What touched you or pleased you most in this text?

• What is the meaning of Jesus’ initial warning?

• What does Jesus criticize and teach about almsgiving? Make a resume for yourself.

• What does Jesus criticize and teach about prayer? Make a resume for yourself.

• What does Jesus criticize and teach about fasting? Make a resume for yourself.

For Those Who Wish to Go Deeper

The Context:

Jesus speaks of three things: almsgiving (Mt 6: 1-6), prayer (Mt 6: 5-15) and fasting (Mt 6: 16-18). These were the three works of mercy of the Jews. Jesus criticizes the fact that they practice these works to be seen by others (Mt 6: 1). He will not allow that the practice of justice and mercy be used as a means to social promotion within the community (Mt 6: 2, 5, 16). In the words of Jesus there comes to light a new kind of relationship with God that is revealed to us. He says, “Your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you" (Mt 6: 4),” Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” (Mt 6: 8), “If you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours” (Mt 6: 14). Jesus presents us with a new way of approaching the heart of God. A meditation on His words concerning the works of mercy may help us discover this new way.

A Commentary on the Text:

• Matthew 6: 1: A general key to an understanding of the teaching that follows

Jesus says, “Be careful not to parade your uprightness in public to attract attention; otherwise, you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven.” The justice referred to by Jesus is the place where God wants us to be. The way there is found in the Law of God. Jesus warns that it is not enough to observe the law so as to be praised by people. Earlier He had said, “For I tell you, if your uprightness does not surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of Heaven" (Mt 5: 26). In reading these words we must not only think of the Pharisees of Jesus time, but above all of the Pharisee that is dormant in each one of us. Had Joseph, Mary’s spouse, followed the justice of the law of the Pharisees, he would have had to renounce Mary. But he was just (Mt 1: 19), and already possessed the new justice proclaimed by Jesus. That is why he broke the ancient law and saved Mary’s and Jesus’ lives. The new justice proclaimed by Jesus rests on another foundation, springs from another source. We must build our peace from the inside, not in what we do for God, but in what God does for us. This is the general key to an understanding of the teaching of Jesus on the works of mercy. In what follows, Matthew applies this general principle to the practice of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. Didactically, he first expresses what must not be and then immediately teaches what should be.

• Matthew 6: 2: How not to go about almsgiving

The wrong way of giving alms, then and now, is that of doing it in public so as to be acknowledged and acclaimed by others. We often see on pews of churches the words: Gift of such-and-such a family. On television, politicians love to appear as great benefactors of humanity on occasions of inaugurations of public works at the service of the community. Jesus says, “Those who act thus have already had their reward.”

• Matthew 6: 3-4: How to go about almsgiving

The correct way of giving alms is this: Your left hand must not know what your right hand is doing! In other words, we must give alms in such a way that not even I must feel that I am doing something good that deserves a reward from God and praise from others. Almsgiving is an obligation. It is a way of sharing something that I have with those who have nothing. In a family, what belongs to one belongs to all. Jesus praises the example of the widow who gave of what was needed for herself (Mk 12: 44).

• Matthew 6: 5: How not to pray

Speaking of the wrong way of praying, Jesus mentions some strange practices and customs of His day. When the trumpet sounded for morning, midday and evening prayer, there were those who sought to be in the middle of the road to pray solemnly with arms outstretched so as to be seen by all and thus be considered as pious people. Others took up extravagant poses in the synagogue so as to draw the attention of the community.

• Matthew 6: 6: How to pray

So as to leave no doubt, Jesus over-emphasizes the manner of praying. He says that we must pray in secret, only before God the Father. No one will see you. Maybe before others you may even seem to be a person who does not pray. This does not matter! Even of Jesus it was said, “He is not God!” That is because Jesus often prayed at night and did not care what others thought. What matters is to have one’s conscience at peace and to know that God is the Father who welcomes me, not because of what I do for God or because of the satisfaction that I seek in the eyes of others, who appreciate me as one who is pious and prays.

• Matthew 6: 16: How not to fast

Jesus criticizes wrong practices concerning fasting. There were those who bore a sad face, did not wash, wore torn clothes, did not comb their hair, so that all could see that they were fasting in a perfect manner.

• Matthew 6: 17-18: How to fast

Jesus suggests the opposite: When you fast, put scent on your head, wash your face, so that no one may know that you are fasting, only Your Father who is in heaven.

As we said earlier, it is a new manner of accessing the heart of God that is opening before our eyes. For our own interior peace, Jesus does not ask what we do for God, but what God does for us. Almsgiving, prayer and fasting are not currency to buy God’s favor but are our response of gratitude for the love received and experienced.

Further information:

The broader context of Matthew s Gospel

Matthew’s Gospel was written for a community of converted Jews who were experiencing a deep crisis of identity in relation to their past. After their conversion to Jesus, they continued to live according to their old traditions and frequented the synagogue, together with their relatives and friends, just as before. But they suffered because of the strong pressure from their Jewish friends who did not accept Jesus as the Messiah. This tension grew after the year 70 AD. When in 66 AD the revolt of the Jews against Rome broke out, two groups refused to take part, the Pharisees and the Jewish Christians. Both groups held that going against Rome had nothing to do with the coming of the Messiah, as some thought. After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in the year 70, all the other Jewish groups disappeared. Only the Pharisees and the Jewish Christians remained. Both groups claimed to be the heirs of the promise of the prophets and, thus, the tension grew between brothers, because of the inheritance. The Pharisees reorganized the rest of the people and took an ever-stronger position against the Christians, who ended by being excommunicated from the synagogues. This excommunication rekindled the whole problem of identity. Now the Christians were officially and formally separated from the people of the promise. They could no longer frequent their synagogue, their rabbis. And they asked themselves, “Who are the real people of God: they or us? On whose side is God? Is Jesus really the Messiah?”

Thus, Matthew writes his Gospel (1) for this group of Christians, as a Gospel of consolation for those who had been excommunicated and persecuted by the Jews, helping them to overcome the trauma of breaking away; (2) as a Gospel of revelation, showing that Jesus is the true Messiah, the new Moses, who fulfills the promises; (3) as a Gospel of the new practice, showing how they must achieve true justice, greater than the justice of the Pharisees.

A Key to the Sermon on the Mount

The Sermon on the Mount is the first of five sermons in Matthew’s Gospel. It describes the conditions that will allow a person to enter the Kingdom of God: the way in, the new reading of the law, the new way of looking at and practicing the works of mercy; the new way of living in community. In a word, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus communicates the new way of looking at the things of Life and the Kingdom. The following is a division that serves as a key to reading:

• Mt 5: 1-16: The way in

• Mt 5: 1-10: The eight Beatitudes help us to see where the kingdom is already present (among the poor and persecuted) and where it will be soon (among the other six groups).

• Mt 5: 12-16: Jesus addresses His words of consolation to His disciples and warns that anyone who lives the beatitudes will be persecuted (Mt 5:11-12), but his or her life will have meaning because he/she will be the salt of the earth (Mt 5:13) and the light of the world (Mt 5: 14-16).

• Mt 5: 17-to-6: 18: The new relationship with God: A new Justice

• Mt 5: 17-48: The new justice must be greater than that of the Pharisees

Jesus radicalizes the law, that is, He brings it back to its roots, to its main and ultimate purpose which is to serve life, justice, love and truth. The commandments of the law point to a new way of life, avoided by the Pharisees (Mt 5: 17-20).

Jesus immediately presents various examples as to how the commandments of the Law of God given to Moses are to be understood: “of old it was said, but I say to you” (Mt 5: 21-48)

• Mt 6: 1-18: The new justice must not seek reward or merit (This is the Gospel of this Ash Wednesday).

• Mt 6: 19-34: The new relationship to the goods of this world: a new vision of creation

Jesus comes to grips with the primary needs of life: food, clothing, house and health. This is the part of life that causes most anxiety in people. Jesus teaches how to relate to material goods and to the riches of the world: do not accumulate goods (Mt 6: 19-21); do not look at the world with sad eyes (Mt 6: 22-23); do not serve God and money at the same time (Mt 6: 24); do not worry about food and drink (Mt 6: 23-34).

• Mt 7: 1-29: The new relationship with people: a new life in community

Do not seek the straw in your brother’s eye (Mt 7: 1-5); do not cast pearls before swine (Mt 7: 6); Do not be afraid of asking for things from God (Mt 7: 7-11); observe the golden rule (Mt 7: 12); seek the narrow and difficult path (Mt 7: 13-14); be wary of false prophets (Mt 7: 15-20); do not just talk but do (Mt 7: 21-23); the community built on these principles will stand in spite of raging storms (Mt 7: 24-27). The outcome of these words is a new awareness in the face of the scribes and doctors (Mt 7: 28-29).

Prayer in a Psalm: Psalm 40 (39)

Proclaiming the great justice of God I waited, I waited for Yahweh, then He stooped to me and heard my cry for help. He pulled me up from the seething chasm, from the mud of the mire. He set my feet on rock, and made my footsteps firm.

He put a fresh song in my mouth, praise of our God.

Many will be awestruck at the sight, and will put their trust in Yahweh.

How blessed are those who put their trust in Yahweh, who have not sided with rebels

and those who have gone astray in falsehood. How much You have done, Yahweh, my God.

Your wonders, Your plans for us -- You have no equal. I will proclaim and speak of them;

they are beyond number.

You wanted no sacrifice or cereal offering, but You gave me an open ear, You did not ask for burnt offering or sacrifice for sin; then I said, “Here I am, I am coming.”

In the scroll of the book, it is written of me, my delight is to do Your will; Your law, my God, is deep in my heart.

I proclaimed the saving justice of Yahweh in the great assembly. See, I will not hold my tongue, as You well know.

I have not kept Your saving justice locked in the depths of my heart but have spoken of Your constancy and saving help.

I have made no secret of Your faithful and steadfast love, in the great assembly.

You, Yahweh, have not withheld Your tenderness from me; Your faithful and steadfast love will always guard me.

For troubles surround me, until they are beyond number; my sins have overtaken me;

I cannot see my way.

They outnumber the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me.

Be pleased, Yahweh, to rescue me, Yahweh, come quickly and help me!

Shame and dismay to all who seek to take my life. Back with them, let them be humiliated who delight in my misfortunes. Let them be aghast with shame, those who say to me, “Aha, aha!”

But joy and happiness in You to all who seek You! Let them ceaselessly cry, “Great is Yahweh” who love Your saving power. Poor and needy as I am, the Lord has me in mind.

You, my helper, my Savior, my God, do not delay.

Final Prayer

Lord Jesus, we thank for the word that has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May Your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice what Your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, Your mother, not only listen to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,

You love us and You invite us

to share in Your own life and joy, through a personal decision.

Help us to choose You and life and to remain ever loyal

to this basic option

by the power of Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who was loyal to You and to us, now and forever.

Gospel Reading - Luke 9: 22-25

Jesus said to his disciples: "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised." Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?"

Reflection

Yesterday we entered into the season of Lent. Up until now the daily Liturgy followed the Gospel of Mark, step by step. Beginning yesterday until Easter, the sequence of the readings of the day will be dictated by the ancient tradition of Lent and of preparation for Easter. From the very first day, the perspective is that of the Passion, Death and Resurrection and of the meaning which this mystery has for our life. This is what is proposed in the rather brief text of today’s Gospel. The text speaks of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus and affirms that the following of Jesus presupposes that we carry our cross after Jesus.

Before, in Luke 9: 18-21, Jesus asks, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They answered giving different opinions: John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the ancient prophets. After having heard the opinions of others, Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answers, “The Christ of God!” that is, the Lord is the one awaited by the people! Jesus agrees with Peter, but He orders and charges them not to say this to anyone. Why did Jesus forbid this? Because at that time everybody was expecting the Messiah, but each one according to his own mind: some as king, others as priest, doctor, warrior, judge, or prophet! Jesus thinks in a different way. He identifies Himself with the Messiah, servant and suffering, announced by Isaiah (42: 1-9; 52: 13-53: 12)

The first announcement of the Passion. Jesus begins to teach that He is the Messiah, the Servant and affirms that, as Messiah, the Servant announced by Isaiah, soon He will be put to death in the carrying out of His mission of justice (Is 49: 4-9; 53: 1-12). Luke usually follows the Gospel of Mark, but here he omits the reaction of Peter, who advised Jesus against or tried to dissuade Him from thinking of the suffering Messiah and he also omits the hard response: “Far from me, Satan! Because you do not think as God, but as men!” Satan is a Hebrew word which means accuser, the one who draws others far away from the path of God. Jesus does not allow Peter to get Him away from His mission.

Conditions to follow Jesus. Jesus draws conclusions valid even until now: “If anyone wants to follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross every day and follow Me.” At that time the cross was the death penalty which the Roman Empire gave to marginalized criminals. To take up the cross and to carry it following Jesus was the same as accepting to be marginalized by the unjust system which legitimized injustices. It was the same as to break away from the system. As St. Paul says in the letter to the Galatians, “The world has been crucified for Me and I to the world” (Gal 6: 14). The cross is not fatalism, neither is it an exigency from the Father. The Cross is the consequence of the commitment freely assumed by Jesus to reveal the Good News that God is Father, and that, therefore, we all should be accepted and treated as brothers and sisters. Because of this revolutionary announcement, He was persecuted, and He was not afraid to deliver His own life. There is no greater proof of love than to give one’s life for one’s brother or sister.

Personal Questions

• Everybody was waiting for the Messiah, each one in his/her own way. Which is the Messiah whom I await and whom people today await?

• The condition to follow Jesus is the cross. How do I react before the crosses of life?

Concluding Prayer

How blessed is anyone who rejects the advice of the wicked and does not take a stand in the path that sinners tread,

nor a seat in company with cynics,

but who delights in the law of Yahweh

and murmurs His law, day and night. (Ps 1: 1-2)

Friday, March 7, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord of the Covenant,

we have not to fear Your judgment if like You we become rich in mercy and full of compassion for our neighbor. May we not only know that You ask us but practice with sincere hearts to share our food with the hungry and to loosen the bonds of injustice, that through us Your light may shine and Your healing spread far and wide. Be with us in Your goodness.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 9: 14-15

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast."

Reflection

Today's Gospel is a brief version of the Gospel which we already meditated on in January, when the same theme of fasting was proposed to us (Mk 2: 18-22), but there is a small difference. Today, the Liturgy omits the whole discourse of the new piece of cloth on an old cloak and the new wine in an old skin (Mt 9: 16-17) and concentrates its attention on fasting.

Jesus does not insist on the practice of fasting. Fasting is a very ancient practice and done in almost all religions. Jesus Himself practiced it during the forty days (Mt 4: 2). But He did not insist His disciples do the same. He leaves them free. For this reason, the disciples of John the Baptist and of the Pharisees, who were obliged to fast, want to know why Jesus does not insist on fasting.

While the bridegroom is with them, they do not need to fast. Jesus responds with a comparison. When the bridegroom is with the friends of the spouse, that is, during the wedding feast, it is not necessary for them to fast. Jesus considers Himself the spouse. The disciples are the friends of the spouse. The time which Jesus is with the disciples is the wedding feast. The day will come in which the spouse will no longer be there. Then, they can fast if they so desire. In this phrase Jesus refers to His death. He knows and He becomes aware that if He continues along this path of freedom the religious authority will want to kill Him.

Fasting and abstinence from meat are universal practices. The Muslims have fasting during Ramadan, during which they don’t eat until the rising of the sun. For diverse reasons, people impose upon themselves some form of fasting. Fasting is an important means to control oneself and this exists in almost all religions. It is also appreciated by those who are health conscious.

The Bible has many references to fasting. It was a way of making penance and of attaining conversion. Through the practice of fasting, Christians imitated Jesus who fasted for forty days. Fasting helps to attain the freedom of mind, self-control, and perhaps a critical vision of reality. It is an instrument to free our mind and not allow one to be transported by any breeze. It is a means to take better care of health. Fasting can be a form of identification with the poor who are obliged to fast the whole year and eat meat very rarely. There are also those who fast in order to protest.

Even if fasting and abstinence are no longer observed today, the basic objective of this practice continues to remain unchanged and is a force which should animate our life: to participate in the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Surrender one’s own life in order to be able to possess it in God. Become aware or conscious of the fact that the commitment to the Gospel is a one-way journey, without returning, which demands losing one’s life in order to be able to possess and find all things in full liberty.

Personal Questions

• What form of fasting do you practice? And if you do not practice any, what is the form which you could practice?

• How can fasting help me to better prepare for the celebration of Easter?

Concluding Prayer

Have mercy on me, O God, in Your faithful love, in Your great tenderness wipe away my offenses; wash me clean from my guilt, purify me from my sin. (Ps 51: 1-2)

Saturday, March 8, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord our God, merciful Father, when You call us to repentance, you want us to turn to people and to build up peace and justice among us all. According to Your promise, let us become, with Your strength,

lights for those in darkness, water for those who thirst, re-builders of hope and happiness for all.

May we thus become living signs of Your love and loyalty, for You are our God for ever.

Gospel Reading - Luke 5: 27-32

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners."

Reflection

Today s Gospel presents the same theme which we reflected upon in January in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 2: 13-17). This time, it is only the Gospel of Luke which speaks and the text is much shorter, concentrating its attention on the principal supper which is the call and conversion of Levi, and what the conversion implies for us who are entering into the time of Lent.

Jesus calls a sinner to be His disciple. Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector, and he immediately left everything, follows Jesus, and begins to form part of the group of the disciples. Luke says that Levi had prepared a great banquet in his house. In the Gospel of Mark, it seemed that the banquet was in Jesus’ house. What is important here is the insistence on the communion of Jesus with sinners, around the table, which was a forbidden thing.

Jesus did not come for the just, but for sinners. This gesture of Jesus causes great anger among the religious authorities. It was forbidden to sit at table with tax collectors and sinners, because to sit at table with someone meant to treat him as a brother! With His way of doing things, Jesus was accepting the excluded and was treating them as brothers of the same family of God. Instead of speaking directly with Jesus, the of the Pharisees speak with the disciples: Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus answers: It is not those that are well who need the doctor; I have come to call not the upright, but sinners, to repentance! His consciousness of His mission helps Jesus to find the response to indicate the way for the announcement of the Good News of God. He has come to unite the dispersed people, to reintegrate those who are excluded, to reveal that God is not a severe judge who condemns and expels, but rather He is Father who accepts and embraces.

Personal Questions

• Jesus accepts and includes people. What is my way of accepting people?

• Jesus’ gesture reveals the experience that He has of God the Father. What is the image of God which I bear and express to others through my behavior?

Concluding Prayer

Listen to me, Yahweh, answer me, for I am poor and needy.

Guard me, for I am faithful,

save Your servant who relies on You. (Ps 86: 1-2)

Sunday, March 9, 2025

First Sunday of Lent

Lectio

Initial Prayer

Oh Lord, at the beginning of this Lenten time You invite me to meditate, once more, on the account of the temptations, so that I may discover the heart of the spiritual struggle and, above all, so that I may experience victory over evil.

Holy Spirit, “visit our minds” because frequently, many thoughts proliferate in our mind which make us feel that we are in the power of the uproar of many voices. The fire of love also purifies our senses and our heart so that they may be docile and available to the voice of Your Word. Enlighten us (accende lumen sensibus, infunde amorem cordibus) so that our senses may be ready to dialogue with You. If the fire of Your love blazes up in our heart, over and above our aridity, it can flood the true life, which is fullness of joy.

Reading of the Gospel:  Luke 4: 1-13

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, One does not live on bread alone." Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. The devil said to him, "I shall give to you all this power and glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me." Jesus said to him in reply, "It is written: You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve." Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone." Jesus said to him in reply, "It also says, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test." When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.

Moment of Prayerful Silence:

To listen, silence is necessary: of the soul, of the spirit, of the senses, and also exterior silence, with the purpose of listening to what the Word of God intends to communicate.

Meditatio

Key for the Reading:

Luke, with the refinement of a narrator, mentions in 4: 1-44 some aspects of the ministry of Jesus after His baptism, among them the temptations of the devil. In fact, he says that Jesus, “Filled with the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert, for forty days” (Lk 4: 1-2). Such an episode in the life of Jesus is something preliminary to His ministry, but it can also be understood as the moment of transition from the ministry of John the Baptist to that of Jesus. In Mark such an account of the temptations is more generic. In Matthew, it is said that Jesus “was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil” (Mt 4: 1), these last words attribute the experience of the temptations to an influence which is at the same time heavenly and diabolical. The Lukan account modifies Matthew’s text in such a way as to show that Jesus, “filled with the Holy Spirit,” leaves the Jordan on His own initiative and is led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, where “He is tempted by the devil” (4: 2). The meaning which Luke wants to give to the temptations of Jesus is that those were an initiative of the devil and not a programmed experience of the Holy Spirit (S. Brown). It is as if Luke wanted to keep clearly distinct the person of the devil from the person of the Holy Spirit.

Another element to be kept in mind is the order in which Luke places the temptations: desert – sight of the kingdoms of the world – pinnacle of Jerusalem. In Matthew, instead, the order varies: desert – pinnacle – high mountain. Exegetes discuss which is the original disposition, but they have not arrived at a unanimous opinion. The difference could be explained beginning with the third temptation (the culminating one): for Matthew the “mountain” is the summit of the temptation because in his Gospel he places all his interest on the theme of the mountain (we just have to remember the Sermon on the Mount, the presentation of Jesus as “the new Moses”); for Luke, instead, the last temptation takes place on the pinnacle of the temple of Jerusalem because one of the great interests of his Gospel is the city of Jerusalem (Jesus in Luke’s account is on the way toward Jerusalem where salvation is definitively fulfilled) (Fitzmyer).

The reader can legitimately ask himself, “In Luke, just as in Matthew, were there possible witnesses to the temptations of Jesus?” The answer is certainly negative. From the account of Luke it appears clearly that Jesus and the devil are completely alone. Jesus’ answers to the devil are taken from Sacred Scripture; they are quotations from the Old Testament. Jesus faces the temptations, and particularly that of the worship which the devil intends from Jesus Himself, having recourse to the Word of God as bread of life, as protection from God. The recourse to the Word of God contained in the book of Deuteronomy, considered by exegetes as a long meditation on the law, shows Luke’s intention to recall this episode in the life of Jesus with God’s plan, who wishes to save the human race.

Did these temptations take place historically? Why do some, among believers and non- believers, hold that such temptations are only some fantasy about Jesus, some invention of a story? Such questions are extremely important. Certainly, it is not possible to give a literal and unsophisticated explanation, or perhaps to think that these could have happened in an external way. Dupont’s explanation seems to offer an alternative: “Jesus speaks about an experience which He has lived, but translated into a figurative language, adapted to strike the minds of His listeners” (Les Tentations de Jesus au Desert, 128). More than considering them as an external fact, the temptations are considered as a concrete experience in the life of Jesus. It seems to me that this is the principal reason which has guided Luke and the other evangelists in transmitting those scenes. The opinions of those who hold that the temptations of Jesus are fictitious or invented are deprived of foundation, neither is it possible to share the opinion of Dupont himself, when he says that these were “a purely spiritual dialogue that Jesus had with the devil” (Dupont, 125). Looking within the New Testament (Jn 6: 26-34; 7: 1-4; Heb 4: 15; 5: 2; 2: 17a) it is clear that the temptations were an evident truth in the life of Jesus. The explanation of Raymond Brown is interesting and can be shared: “Matthew and Luke would have done no injustice to historical reality by dramatizing such temptations within a scene, and by masking the true tempter by placing this provocation on his lips” (The Gospel According to John, 308). In synthesis we could say that the historicity of the temptations of Jesus or the taking root of these in the experience of Jesus might be described with a “figurative language” (Dupont) or “dramatized” (Raymond Brown). One must distinguish the content (the temptations in the experience of Jesus) from its container (the figurative or dramatized language). It is possible that these two interpretations are much more correct than those which interpret them in a purely literal sense.

An Additional Key to the Reading:

However, these intellectual interpretations, that this episode in Jesus’ life as transmitted to us through the gospel, are “dramatizations” or speaking figuratively, also fall short and can be misleading. In the book “On Heaven and Earth,” Pope Francis, the then- Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, said, “I believe that the devil exists” and “his greatest achievement in these times has been to make us believe he doesn’t exist.” As for the existence of the devil, theologian Monsignor Corrado Balducci points out that "Satan is mentioned about 300 times in the New Testament, much more than the Holy Spirit.”

In a week we will celebrate Jesus' Transfiguration on the mountain. This is not an abstract dramatization, but rather that Moses and Elijah appeared and the three disciples actually heard the voice of God, yet to accept that the Son of God might actually and verbally turn away Satan, we find it incredulous. In Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete Et Exsultate, we read: "Hence, we should not think of the devil as a myth, a representation, a symbol, a figure of speech or an idea" (161).

Without witnesses to the event, Dupont and Brown resort to examining the event in terms of modern empirical standards. Yet, turning to Gaudete Et Exsultate again, we read "We will not admit the existence of the devil if we insist on regarding life by empirical standards alone, without a supernatural understanding. It is precisely the conviction that this malign power is present in our midst that enables us to understand how evil can at times have so much destructive force." (160) This represents the old Gnostic desire to shape events according to what the human intellect can easily and completely grasp, and to replace divine mystery with something more easily understood or identified with. While the three temptations do have symbolic meaning, it should not detract from its realism as well. "Evil is not only an abstract idea or the absence of good. Evil is a person, Satan: the Evil One. Satan is the angel who opposes God and who desires to disrupt the power of God in our lives." - Bishop James Conley, Southern Nebraska Register.

Jesus himself identifies Satan as someone He has seen: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Lk 10: 18). “The prince of this world is coming,” he says, “against me he can do nothing” (Jn 14: 30), as well as in Jn 16: 11 and Jn 12: 31. By claiming that the evangelist must be "dramatizing" these events, or merely using figurative descriptions, Dupont and Brown enter into a form of rationalism that denies how Jesus spoke at other times. From a literary style point of view, we would not expect every event to be transmitted as a quotation, nor would we expect Him to return to the disciples saying "guess what happened to me in the desert..." In that age, with its cultural and religious obsession with sin and Satan, this direct exchange would have been treated respectfully as it was passed down. We cannot directly infer it to be figurative merely because it isn't a direct quotation or is without human witnesses.

The temptations do share a common theme though, one of division. To separate Jesus from the Father, from His disciples, and from His mission should He accept his (Satan's) proposals. In his address to new bishops in missionary territories in 2016, Pope Francis advised: "Divisions are the weapon that the devil has most at hand to destroy the Church from within.” These divisions are at play today once we move our understanding of gospel events from faith to rationalism or pragmatism.

Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap, the Pontifical Household preacher, puts it well in his 1st Lenten homily in 2008: If many people find belief in demons absurd, it is because they take their beliefs from books, they pass their lives in libraries and at desks... How could a person know anything about Satan if he has never encountered the reality of Satan, but only the idea of Satan in cultural, religious and ethnological traditions? They treat this question with great certainty and a feeling of superiority, doing away with it all as so much "medieval obscurantism." But it is a false certainty.

It is like someone who brags about not being afraid of lions and proves this by pointing out that he has seen many paintings and pictures of lions and was never frightened by them. On the other hand, it is entirely normal and consistent for those who do not believe in God to not believe in the devil. The episode of Jesus’ temptations in the desert that is read on the First Sunday of Lent helps us to have some clarity on this subject.

First of all, do demons exist? That is, does the word “demon” truly indicate some personal being with intelligence and will, or is it simply a symbol, a manner of speaking that refers to the sum of the world’s moral evil, the collective unconscious, collective alienation, etc.? Many intellectuals do not believe in demons in the first sense. But it must be noted that many great writers, such as Goethe and Dostoyevsky, took Satan’s existence very seriously. Baudelaire, who was certainly no angel, said that “the demon’s greatest trick is to make people believe that he does not exist.” - Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic.

St Teresa, who battled Satan, and St John of the Cross, firmly believed in Satan as a being, as did Pope Paul VI: "one of the greatest needs is the defense from that evil which is called the Devil. Evil is not merely a lack of something but an effective agent, a living spiritual being, perverted and perverting. A terrible reality, mysterious and frightening..."

Thus, we don't have to abandon a literal or historical view of these events merely because it defies our modernist senses. Moreover, it would be overly presumptive to redefine Luke's narrative, of an interaction between the Son of God and the Prince of Evil, as something that must have occurred on merely human terms or in the imagination.

Luke intends to remind us in these scenes that the temptations were addressed to Jesus by an external agent. They are not the result of a psychological crisis or because He finds Himself in a personal conflict with someone. The temptations, rather, lead back to the “temptations” which Jesus experienced in His ministry: hostility, opposition, rejection. Such “temptations” were real and concrete in His life. He had no recourse to His divine power to solve them. These trials were a form of “diabolical seducing” (Fitzmyer), a provocation to use His divine power to change the stones into bread and to manifest Himself in eccentric ways.

The temptations end with this expression: “Having exhausted every way of putting Him to the test, the devil left Jesus (4: 13). Therefore, the three scenes which contain the temptations are to be considered as the expression of all temptations or trials which Jesus had to face. But the fundamental point is that Jesus, insofar as He is the Son, faced and overcame the “temptation.” Furthermore, He was tested and tried in His fidelity to the Father and was found to be faithful.

A last consideration regarding the third temptation. In the first two temptations the devil provoked Jesus to use His divine Sonship to deny His human finiteness, to avoid providing for Himself bread like all men, requiring from Him an illusory omnipotence. In both of these, Jesus does not respond, saying, “I do not want to!” but appeals to the law of God, His Father: “It is written… it has been said…” A wonderful lesson. But the devil does not give in and presents a third provocation, the strongest of all: to save Himself from death. In one word, to throw Himself down from the pinnacle meant a sure death. The devil quotes scripture, Psalm 91, to invite Jesus to the magic and spectacular use of divine protection, and in the last instance, to the denial of death. This passage in the Gospel of Luke launches a strong warning: the erroneous use of the Word of God can be the occasion of temptations. How is that? My way of relating myself to the Bible is placed in crisis especially when I use it only to give moral teachings to others who are in difficulty or in a state of crisis. We refer to certain pseudo-spiritual discourses which are addressed to those who are in difficulty: “Are you anguished? There is nothing else you can do but pray and everything will be solved.” This means to ignore the consistency of the anguish which a person has and which frequently stems from a biochemical fact or a psycho-social difficulty, or a mistaken way of placing oneself before God. It would be more coherent to say: Pray and ask the Lord to guide you in having recourse to the human mediation of the doctor or of a wise and knowledgeable friend so that they can help you in lessening or curing you of your anguish. One cannot propose biblical phrases, in a magic way, to others, neglecting to use the human mediation. “The frequent temptation is that of making a bible of one’s own moral, instead of listening to the moral teachings of the Bible.” (X. Thévenot).

An Additional Key to the Reading:

However, both sides of this argument tend to be too simplistic, and just as it would be mistaken to advise a hungry person to just pray for a meal to appear, it is just as erroneous to reduce St John of the Cross' Dark Night to a mere psycho-social difficulty, as well as St Terese's visions, or St Paul of the Cross or St Teresa of Calcutta's difficulties. We are then left with the task of discerning between these two recourses. St Ignatius of Loyola, who himself experienced suffering on both physical and spiritual levels, offers much guidance on discernment in these matters. A spiritual director can also help. Satan uses division to separate us from God, and Gnosticism, pragmatism, rationalism, and empiricism all have elements that drive us to decide "this I can do" and "this other maybe God could help," letting us decide, in a typically ever growing circle, that we can do without God, and relegating Him out of our lives.

The contemporary world expects God to come like earthquakes and thunder, rolling in to fix things. If that were so, there would be no opportunity for faith and no free will. God speaks as in a small whispering sound (1 Kings 19: 11-12), and when we don't hear it, we think He hasn't answered. Even more relevant would be to pray for guidance on where help or consolation is to be found, whether it be spiritual or physical, including recourse to the sacraments, Eucharistic Adoration, or the Rosary as well as finding a friend. Every hardship can be an opportunity to increase one's faith, even if it means doing some of the work oneself. "Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Mt 17: 20).

In this time of Lent I am invited to get close to the Word of God with the following attitude: a tireless and prayerful devotion to the Word of God, reading it with a constant bond of union with the great traditions of the Church, and in dialogue with the problems of humanity today.

Oratio

Psalm 119:

How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of Yahweh!

Blessed are those who observe His instructions, who seek Him with all their hearts,

Let us renew ourselves in the Spirit And put on the new man

Jesus Christ, our Lord,

in justice and in true sanctity. (St. Paul).

and, doing no evil, who walk in His ways.

You lay down Your precepts to be carefully kept.

Let us follow Jesus Christ and serve Him

with a pure heart and good conscience. (Rule of Carmel)

May my ways be steady in doing Your will.

Then I shall not be shamed,

if my gaze is fixed on Your commandments.

Let us follow Jesus Christ and serve Him

with a pure heart and good conscience. (Rule of Carmel)

I thank You with a sincere heart

for teaching me Your upright judgments. I shall do Your will;

do not ever abandon me wholly.

Let us renew ourselves in the Spirit  And put on the new man

Christ Jesus, our Lord,

created according to God the Father

in justice and in true sanctity. Amen (St. Paul).

Final Prayer:

Lord, we look for You and we desire to see Your face, grant us that one day, removing the veil, we may be able to contemplate it.

We seek You in Scripture which speaks to us of You and under the veil of wisdom, the fruit of human searching.

We look for You in the radiant faces of our brothers and sisters, in the marks of Your Passion in the bodies of the suffering.

Every creature is signed by Your mark, everything reveals a ray of Your invisible beauty.

You are revealed in the service of the brother, You revealed Yourself to the brother by the faithful love which never diminishes.

Not the eyes but the heart has a vision of You, with simplicity and truth we try to speak with You.

Contemplatio

To prolong our meditation we suggest a reflection of Benedict XVI:

“Lent is the privileged time of an interior pilgrimage toward the One who is the source of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He Himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, supporting us on the way toward the intense joy of Easter. Even in the “dark valley” of which the Psalmist speaks (Psalm 23: 4), while the tempter suggests that we be dispersed or proposes an illusory hope in the work of our hands, God takes care of us and supports us. […] Lent wants to lead us in view of the victory of Christ over every evil which oppresses man. In turning to the Divine Master, in converting ourselves to Him, in experiencing His mercy, we discover a “look” which penetrates in the depth of ourselves and which can encourage each one of us.”

Monday, March 10, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord, holy God, loving Father,

you give us the task to love one another because You are holy

and You have loved us before we could love You.

Give us the ability to recognize Your Son in our brothers and sisters far and near.

Make us witnesses that love exists and is alive and that You, the God of love,

exist and are alive now forever.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 25: 31-46

Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.' Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Reflection

• The Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus as the New Messiah. Like Moses, Jesus also promulgates the Law of God. As with the ancient law, the new one, given by Jesus, also contains five books or discourses. The Sermon on the Mountain (Mt 5: 1 to 7: 27), the first discourse, opens with eight Beatitudes. The discourse on vigilance (Mt 2: 4, 1 to 25, 46), the fifth discourse, contains the description of the Last Judgment. The Beatitudes describe the door of entrance into the Kingdom, enumerating eight categories of people: the poor in spirit, the meek, the afflicted, those who hunger and thirst for justice, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers and the persecuted because of justice (Mt 5: 3-10). The parable of the Last Judgment tells us what we should do in order to possess the Kingdom: accept the hungry, the thirsty, the foreigners, the naked, the sick and the prisoners (Mt 25: 35-36): At the beginning, as well as at the end of the New Law, there are the excluded and the marginalized.

• Matthew 25: 31-33: Opening of the Last Judgment. The Son of Man gathers together around Him the nations of the world. He separates people as the shepherd does with the sheep and the goats. The shepherd knows how to discern. He does not make a mistake; sheep on the right, goats on the left. Jesus does not make a mistake. Jesus does not judge nor condemn. (cfr. Jn 3: 17; 12: 47). He does not separate alone. It is the person himself/herself who judges and condemns because of the way in which he/she behaves toward the little ones and the excluded.

• Matthew 25: 34-36: The sentence for those who are at the right hand of the Judge. Those who are at the right hand of the judge are called Blessed of my Father! That is, they receive the blessing which God promised to Abraham and to his descendants (Gen 12: 3). They are invited to take possession of the Kingdom, prepared for them from the foundation of the world. The reason for the sentence is the following: I was hungry, a foreigner, naked, sick and prisoner, and you accepted me and helped me! This sentence makes us understand who are the sheep. They are the persons who accepted the Judge when he was hungry, thirsty, a foreigner, naked, sick and prisoner. Because of the way of speaking about my Father and the Son of Man, we can know that the Judge is precisely Jesus Himself. He identifies Himself with the little ones!

• Matthew 25: 37-40: A request for clarification and the response of the Judge: Those who accept the excluded are called just. That means that the justice of the Kingdom is not attained by observing norms and prescriptions, but rather by accepting those in need. But it is strange that the just do not even know themselves when they accepted Jesus in need. Jesus responds: Every time that you have done this to one of my brothers, you have done it to me. Who are these little brothers of mine? In other passages of the Gospel of Matthew, the expression “my brothers” indicates the disciples (Mt 12: 48-50; 28: 10). This also indicates the members of the community who are more abandoned and neglected who have no place and are not well received (Mt 10: 40). Jesus identifies Himself with them. In the broader context of the last parable, the expression “my smallest brothers” is extended and includes all those who have no place in society. It indicates all the poor. The just and the blessed by my Father are all the persons from all nations who accept and welcome others with total gratuity, independently of the fact that they are Christians or not.

• Matthew 25: 41-43: The sentence for those who were at the left-hand side. Those who were on the other side of the Judge are called cursed and they are destined to go to the eternal fire, prepared by the devil and his friends. Jesus uses a symbolic language common at that time to say that these persons will not enter into the Kingdom. And here, also, their is only one reason: they did not accept or welcome Jesus as one who is hungry, thirsty, a foreigner, naked, sick and/or a prisoner. It is not that Jesus prevents them from entering into the Kingdom, rather it is our way of acting that is our blindness which prevents us from seeing Jesus in the little ones.

• Matthew 25: 44-46: A request for clarification and the response of the Judge. The request for clarification indicates that it is a question of people who have behaved well, people who have their conscience in peace. They are certain to have always practiced what God asked from them. For this reason they were surprised when the Judge says that they did not accept Him, did not welcome Him. The Judge responds: Every time that you have not done these things to one of my brothers, the little ones, you did not do it to me. It is the omission! They did not do anything extra. They only missed practicing good towards the little ones and the excluded. This is the way the fifth Book of the New Law ends!

In the saints and Church Fathers we have a lot to learn about virtues and vices. It is not enough to just avoid vice, or sin, but to also work toward attaining virtue and virtuous behavior. To do no harm is not the same as to help. This is what we are called to do: to not just avoid doing wrong or harm, but to go out of our way to do good as well.

Personal Questions

• What struck you the most in this parable of the Last Judgment?

• Do I focus my life more on avoiding harm or on doing good for others?

• Stop and think: if the Last Judgment would take place today, would you be on the side of the sheep or on the side of the goats?

Concluding Prayer

The precepts of Yahweh are honest, joy for the heart;

the commandment of Yahweh is pure, light for the eyes. (Ps 19: 8)

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord God,

You speak Your mighty word to us, but we cannot hear it

unless it stirs our lives

and is spoken in human terms.

Keep speaking Your word to us, Lord, and open our hearts to it,

that it may bear fruit in us when we do Your will

and carry out what we are sent to do.

We ask You this through Your living Word, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 6: 7-15

Jesus said to his disciples: "In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. "This is how you are to pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. "If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions."

Reflection

There are two versions of the Our Father: Luke (Lk 11: 1-4) and Matthew (Mt 6: 7-13). In Luke, the Our Father is shorter. Luke writes for the communities which came from Paganism. In Matthew the Our Father is found in the Discourse on the Mountain, in the part where Jesus orientates the disciples in the practice of the three works of piety: alms (Mt 6: 1-4), prayer (Mt 6: 5-15) and fasting (Mt 6: 16-18). The Our Father forms part of a catechesis for the converted Jews. They were accustomed to pray, but had some vices which Matthew tries to correct.

• Matthew 6: 7-8: The faults to be corrected. Jesus criticizes the people for whom prayer was a repetition of a magic formula, strong words addressed to God to oblige Him to respond to our needs. The acceptance of our prayer by God does not depend on the repetition of words, but on God’s goodness, on God who is love and mercy. He wants our good and knows our needs even before we pray to Him.

• Matthew 6: 9a: The first words: Our Father, Abba Father, is the name which Jesus uses to address Himself to God. It reveals the new relationship with God that should characterize the life of the communities (Ga 4: 6; Rm 8: 15). We say Our Father and not My Father. The adjective places the accent on the awareness or knowledge that we all belong to the great human family of all races and creeds. To pray to the Father is to enter in intimacy with Him. It also means to be sensitive to the cry of all the brothers and sisters who cry for their daily bread. It means to seek in the first place the Kingdom of God. The experience of God as our Father is the foundation of universal fraternity.

• Matthew 6: 9b-10: Three requests for the cause of God: The Name, the Kingdom, the Will. In the first part we ask that our relationship with God may be re-established again. To sanctify His name: The name JAHVE means I am with you! God knows. In this name He makes Himself known (Ex 3: 11-15). The name of God is sanctified when it is used with faith and not with magic; when it is used according to its true objective, not for oppression but for the liberty or freedom of the people and for the construction of the Kingdom. The coming of the Kingdom: The only Lord and King of life is God (Is 45: 21; 46: 9). The coming of the Kingdom is the fulfillment of all the hopes and promises. It is life in plenitude, the overcoming of frustration suffered with human kings and governments. This Kingdom will come when the Will of God will be fully, accomplished. To do His will: The will of God is expressed in His Law. His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. In Heaven the sun and the stars obey the laws of their orbit and create the order of the universe (Is 48: 12-13). The observance of the law of God will be a source of order and well-being for human life.

• Matthew 6: 11-13: Four petitions for the cause of the brothers: Bread, Pardon, Victory, Liberty. In the second part of the Our Father we ask that the relationship among persons may be restored. The four requests show how necessary it is to transform or change the structures of the community and society in order that all the sons and daughters of God may have the same dignity. The daily bread. In Exodus the people received the manna in the desert every day (Ex 16: 35). Divine Providence passed through the fraternal organization, the sharing. Jesus invites us to live a new Exodus, a new fraternal way of living together which will guarantee the daily bread for all (Mt 6: 34-44; Jo 6: 48-51). Forgive us our debts: Every 50 years, the Jubilee Year obliged people to forgive their debts. It was a new beginning (Lv 25: 8-55). Jesus announces a new Jubilee Year, a year of grace from the Lord (Lk 4: 19). The Gospel wants to begin everything anew! Do not lead us into temptation, do not put us to the test: In Exodus, people were tempted and fell (Dt 9: 6-12). The people complained and wanted to go back (Ex 16: 3; 17: 3). In the new Exodus, the temptation will be overcome by the strength which people receive from God (I Co 10: 12-13). Deliver us from evil: The Evil One is Satan, who draws away from God and is a cause of scandal. He succeeds in entering in Peter (Mt 16: 23) and to tempt Jesus in the desert. Jesus overcomes him (Mt 4: 1-11). He tells us: Courage, I have conquered the world! (Jn 16: 33).

• Matthew 6: 14-15: Anyone who does not forgive will not be forgiven. In praying the Our Father, we pronounce the phrase which condemns us or absolves us. We say: Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass us (Mt 6: 12). We offer God the measure of pardon that we want. If we forgive very much, He will forgive us very much. If we forgive little, He will forgive little. If we do not forgive, He will not forgive us.

Personal Questions

• Jesus prayer says forgive our debts. In some countries it is translated as forgive our offenses. What is easier to forgive, the offenses or to forgive the debts?

• Christian nations of the Northern Hemisphere (Europe and USA) pray everyday: Forgive our debts as we forgive those who are in debt to us! But they do not forgive the external debt of poor countries of the Third World. How can we explain this terrible contradiction, source of impoverishment of millions of people?

• Debt, in the context of society, is not only money. In fact, in referring to people who have served time in jail we say “they have paid their debt to society.” Do we accept these people back into society? Not only have they paid their “debt,” they are often treated as having not been forgiven.

• How do we forgive others in terms of immigration, documented or not, and accept them into our communities?

Concluding Prayer

Proclaim with me the greatness of Yahweh, let us acclaim His name together.

I seek Yahweh and He answers me, frees me from all my fears. (Ps 34: 3-4)

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Forgiving, merciful God,

we pray to You for a good measure of humility and honesty

to acknowledge before You and people

that we are weak and fallible men and women, who often try to turn a blind eye

to our shortcomings and our sins.

Strong with the grace won in the hard way by Your Son on the cross,

we beg You for the courage to seek Your forgiveness

and to turn and return wholeheartedly to You and to serve You and people.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Luke 11: 29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.

Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation, and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

Reflection

We are in Lent. The Liturgy presents texts which can help us to convert ourselves and to change our life. What helps more in conversion are the facts of the history of the People of God. In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents two episodes of the past: Jonah and the Queen of the South and transforms this into a mirror in such a way that one can discover God’s call to conversion.

• Luke 11: 29: The evil generation which asks for a sign. Jesus calls the generation evil because it does not want to believe in Jesus and continues to ask for signs which can indicate that Jesus has been sent by the Father. But Jesus refuses to present these signs, because if they ask for a sign it is because they do not believe. The only sign which will be given is that of Jonah.

• Luke 11: 30: The sign of Jonah. The sign of Jonah has two different aspects. The first one is what the text of Luke affirms in today’s Gospel. Jonah was a sign, through his preaching, for the people of Nineveh. Listening to Jonah, the people were converted. In the same way, the preaching of Jesus was a sign for His people, but the people did not show any sign of conversion. The other aspect is that which the Gospel of Matthew affirms when he quotes the same episode: For as Jonah remained in the belly of the sea- monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights (Mt 12: 40). When the fish vomited Jonah into the dry land, he went to announce the Word of God to the people of Nineveh. In the same way, after the death and resurrection on the third day, the Good News will be announced to the people of Judah.

• Luke 11: 31: The Queen of the South. Following this, Jesus recalls the story of the Queen of the South, who came from the ends of the earth to meet Solomon, and to learn from his wisdom (cfr. I Kg 10: 1-10). Twice Jesus affirms: Look, there is something greater than Solomon here, and look, there is something much greater than Jonah here .

A very important point in the discussion between Jesus and the leaders of His people is the way in which Jesus and His enemies place themselves before God. The Book of Jonah is a parable which criticizes the mentality of those who wanted God only for the Jews. In the story of Jonah, the pagans were converted listening to the preaching of Jonah and God accepts them in His goodness and does not destroy the city. When Jonah sees that God accepts the people of Nineveh and does not destroy the city Jonah became very indignant. He fell into a rage. He prayed to the Lord: Lord, is not this what I said would happen when I was still in my own country? That was why I first tried to flee to Tarshish, since I knew You were a tender, compassionate God, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, who relents about inflicting disaster. So now, Lord, please take my life, for I might as well be dead as go on living!. (Jon 4: 1-3). For this reason, Jonah was a sign for the Jews of the time of Jesus and it continues to be for us Christians. He wants for all to be disciples (Mt 28: 19), that is, that they be persons who, like Him, radiate and announce the Good News of the love of God for all peoples (Mk 16: 15).

Personal Questions

• Lent, the time for conversion. What has to change in the image of God that I have? Am I like Jonah or like Jesus?

• On what is my faith based, founded? In signs or in the Word of Jesus?

Concluding Prayer

God, create in me a clean heart, renew within me a resolute spirit,

do not thrust me away from Your presence,

do not take away from me Your spirit of holiness. (Ps 51: 10-11)

Thursday, March 13, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening prayer

Lord, our God,

You are a generous Father, who give us what is good for us simply because You love us.

Give us grateful hearts, Lord, that we may learn from You

to give and share without counting the cost but simply with love and joy,

as Jesus, Your Son, did among us,

who lives with You and the Holy Spirit forever.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 7: 7-12

Jesus said to his disciples: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him. "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets."

Reflection

The Gospel today gives a part of the Sermon on the Mount, the new law of God which has been revealed to us by Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount has the following structure:

• Mathew 5: 1-16: The entrance door: the Beatitudes (Mt 5:1-10) and the mission of the disciples: to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Mt 5: 12-16).

• Mathew 5: 17-18: The new relationship with God: The new justice (Mt 5:17-48) which does not expect a reward for practicing almsgiving, for praying and fasting (Mt 6:  1-18).

• Mathew 6: 19-34: The new relationship with the goods of the earth (Mt 6: 19-21), do not look at the world with a jaundiced eye (Mt 6: 22-23), do not serve God and money (Mt 6: 24), do not be concerned about food and drink (Mt 6: 23-34).

• Mathew 7: 1-23: The new relationship with other people: do not look for the splinter in your brother’s eye (Mt 7: 1-5); do not throw your pearls in front of pigs (Mt 7: 6); the Gospel today: do not be afraid to ask things from God (Mt 7: 7-11); and the Golden Rule (Mt 7: 12); choose the hard and narrow roads (Mt 7: 13-14), beware of false prophets (Mt 7: 15-20).

• Mathew 7: 21-29: Conclusion: do not only speak but also practice (Mt 7: 21-23); the community built on this basis will resist the storm (Mt 7: 24-27). The result of these words is a new conscience before the scribes and the doctors (Mt 7: 28-29).

• Mathew 7: 7-8: Jesus’ three recommendations: to ask, to seek and to knock: “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you!” A person is asked. The response depends both on the person as well as on the insistence with which it is asked (cf Lk 18: 1-7). The seeking is defined by some criteria. The better the criteria, the more certainty one can have of finding what one is looking for. To knock at the door is done with the hope that there will be someone on the other side of the door at home. Jesus completes the recommendation, offering the certainty of the response: “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it will be opened; because anyone who asks receives, and anyone who seeks will find and to anyone who knocks the door will be opened.” That means that when we ask God, He listens to our petition. When we seek God, He allows Himself to be found (Isa 5: 5-6). When we knock on the door of God’s house, He opens the door for us.

• Mathew 7: 9-11: Jesus’ question to the people. “Is there anyone among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish?” Here appears the simple and direct way which Jesus has for teaching the things of God to the people. Speaking to the parents, He connects Himself to the daily experience. Between the lines of the question one can guess the response the people yelled out: “No!” because nobody gives a stone to a son who asks for bread. There is no father and no mother who would give a snake to their son when he asks for a fish. And Jesus draws the conclusion: “If you, then, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” Jesus calls us evil to stress the certainty of being listened to by God when we ask Him for something. And this, because if we who are not saints, know how to give good things to our children, how much more is the Father in heaven. This comparison has as its objective to take away from our heart any doubt concerning the prayer addressed to God with trust. God will listen! Luke adds that God will give the Holy Spirit (Lk 11: 13).

• Mathew 7: 12: The Golden Rule. "So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the law and the prophets.” This is the summary of the entire Old Testament, of the law and the prophets. And this is the summary of everything which God wants to tell us, the summary of all the teaching of Jesus. This Golden Rule is not found only in the teaching of Jesus, but also, in one way or other, in all religions. This responds to the most profound and more universal sentiment of humanity.

Personal Questions

• Ask, seek, knock on the door: How do you pray and speak with God?

• Are you persistent in what you ask for, as the widow in Lk 18: 1-7 was, or do you give up after not getting results immediately? Would you pray persistently (and insistently) for years, or just months, or just a week?

• How are your wants aligned with what God would want for you?

• How do you live the Golden Rule?

Concluding Prayer

Lord I praise Your name for Your faithful love and Your constancy; Your promises surpass even Your fame.

You heard me on the day when I called,

and You gave new strength to my heart. (Ps 138: 2-3)

Friday, March 14, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

God of mercy and compassion,

you challenge us to be responsible

for the good and the evil we do

and You call us to conversion.

God, help us to face ourselves

that we may not use flimsy excuses

for covering up our wrongs.

Make us honest with ourselves,

and aware that we can always count on Jesus Christ

to be our guide and strength on the road to You,

now and for ever.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 5: 20-26

Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."

Reflection

The text of today s Gospel forms part of a broader or more extensive whole: Mt 5: 20 up to Mt 5: 48. In these passages Matthew tells us how Jesus interprets and explains the Law of God. Five times He repeats the phrase: You have heard how it was said to our ancestors, in truth I tell you! (Mt 5: 21, 27, 33, 38, 43). Before, He had said: Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; no, I have come not to abolish, but to complete them (Mt 5: 17). The attitude of Jesus before the Law is, at the same time, one of breaking and of continuity. He breaks away from the erroneous interpretations, but maintains firm the objective which the Law should attain: the practice of a greater justice, which is Love.

• Matthew 5: 20: An uprightness which surpasses that of the Pharisees. This first verse presents the general key of everything which follows in Matthew 5: 20-48. The word Justice never appears in the Gospel of Mark, and it appears seven times in that of Matthew (Mt 3: 15; 5: 6, 10, 20; 6: 1, 33; 21:32). This has something to do with the situation of the communities for which Mark wrote. The religious ideal of the Jews of the time was to be just before God. The Pharisees taught: people attain justice before God when they succeed to observe all the norms of the law in all its details! This teaching generated a legalistic oppression and caused great anguish in the people because it was very difficult to be able to observe all the norms (cfr. Rm 7: 21-24). This is why Matthew takes the words of Jesus on justice to show that it has to surpass the justice of the Pharisees (Mt. 5: 20). According to Jesus, justice does not come from what I do for God in observing the law, but rather from what God does for me, accepting me as His son or as His daughter. The new ideal which Jesus proposes is the following: therefore, be perfect as is your Heavenly Father! (Mt 5: 48). That means: you will be just before God when you try to accept and forgive people as God accepts and pardons me, in spite of my defects and sins.

By means of these five very concrete examples, Jesus shows us what to do in order to attain this greater justice which surpasses the justice of the  and the Pharisees. As we can see, today’s Gospel takes the example of the new interpretation of the fifth commandment: You shall not kill! Jesus has revealed what God wanted when He gave this commandment to Moses.

• Matthew 5: 21-22: The law says: You shall not kill! (Ex 20: 13). In order to observe fully this commandment it is not sufficient to avoid murdering. It is necessary to uproot from within everything which, in one way or another, can lead to murder, for example, anger, hatred, the desire to revenge, insult, and exploitation, etc.

• Matthew 5: 23-24. The perfect worship which God wants. In order to be accepted by God and to remain united to Him, it is necessary to reconcile oneself with brother and sister. Before the destruction of the Temple, in the year 70, when the Christian Jews participated in the pilgrimages in Jerusalem to present their offerings at the altar and to pay their promises, they always remembered this phrase of Jesus. In the year 80, at the time when Matthew wrote, the Temple and the Altar no longer existed. They had been destroyed by the Romans. The community and the communitarian celebration became the Temple and the Altar of God

• Matthew 5: 25-26: To reconcile oneself. One of the points on which the Gospel of Matthew exists the most is reconciliation. That indicates that in the communities of that time, there were many tensions among the radical groups with diverse tendencies and sometimes even opposing ones. Nobody wanted to cede to the other. There was no dialogue. Matthew enlightens this situation with the words of Jesus on reconciliation which demands acceptance and understanding. The only sin that God does not forgive is our lack of pardon toward others (Mt 6: 14). That is why one should try to reconcile yourself before it is too late!

Personal Questions

• Today there are many people who cry out for justice! What meaning does evangelical justice have for me?

• How do I behave before those who do not accept me as I am? How did Jesus behave before those who did not accept Him

Concluding Prayer

From the depths I call to You, Yahweh:

Lord, hear my cry.

Listen attentively to the sound of my pleading! (Ps 130: 1-2)

Saturday, March 15, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord God, from You comes the initiative of love. You seek us out and You tell us:

I am your God; you are my people. You love us in Jesus Christ, Your Son.

God, may our response of love go far beyond the demands of any law. May we seek You and commune with You in the deepest of our being and may we express our gratitude to You by going to our neighbor with a love that is spontaneous like Yours. We ask You this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 5: 43-48

Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers and sisters only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Reflection

In today’s Gospel we see how Jesus has interpreted the commandment “You shall not kill” in such a way that its observance leads to the practice of love. Besides saying “You shall not kill” (Mt 5: 21), Jesus quoted four other commandments of the ancient law: you shall not commit adultery (Mt 5: 27), you shall not bear false witness (Mt 5: 33), eye for eye, and tooth for tooth (Mt 5: 38) and, in today’s Gospel, you shall love your neighbor and will hate your enemy (Mt 5: 43), five times, Jesus criticizes and completes the ancient way of observing these commandments and indicates the new way to attain the objective of the law, which is the practice of love (Mt 5: 22-26; 5: 28-32; 5: 34-37; 5: 39-42; 5: 44-48).

Love your enemies. In today's Gospel Jesus quotes the ancient law which says: You will love your neighbor and hate your enemy. This text is not found like this in the Old Testament. It is more a question of the mentality of the time, according to which there was no problem if a person hated his enemy. Jesus was not in agreement and says: But I tell you: if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the gentiles do as much? You must, therefore, set no bounds to your love, just as your heavenly Father sets none to His. And Jesus gives us the proof. At the hour of His death He observed that which He preached.

Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing. A soldier takes the wrist of Jesus and places it on the arm of the cross, places a nail and begins to hammer it in. Several times. The blood was flowing down. The body of Jesus contorted with pain. The soldier, a mercenary, ignorant, far from knowing what he was doing, and of what was happening around him, continued to hammer as if it were a piece of the wall of his house and he had to put up a picture. At that moment Jesus prays for the soldier who tortures Him and addresses His prayer to the Father: Father, forgive them! They know not what they are doing! He loved the soldier who killed Him. Even wanting it with all their strength, the lack of humanity did not succeed to kill in Jesus His humanity and love! He will be imprisoned, they will spit on Him, will laugh and make fun of Him, they will make of Him a false king crowning Him with a crown of thorns, they will torture Him, will oblige Him to go through the streets like a criminal hearing the insults of the religious authority. On Calvary they will leave Him completely naked in the sight of all. But the poison of this lack of humanity did not succeed in suppressing the source of love and humanity which sprang from within Jesus. The water of the love which sprang from within was stronger than the poison of hatred which was coming from without. Looking at that soldier, Jesus felt sorrow and prayed for him and for all: Father, forgive them! They know not what they are doing! Jesus, in solidarity, almost excuses those who were ill-treating and torturing Him. He was like a brother who goes with his murderous brothers before the judge and he, the victim of his own brothers, says to the judge: They are my brothers, you know they are ignorant. Forgive them! They will become better! He loved the enemy!

Be perfect as is your Father who is in Heaven. Jesus does not want to frighten, because this would be useless. He wants to change the system of human living altogether. The notion which He constructs comes from the new experience He has from God the Father, full of tenderness and who accepts all! The words of threat against the rich cannot be an occasion of revenge on the part of the poor. Jesus orders that we have a contrary attitude: Love your enemies! True love cannot depend on what one receives from others. Love should want the good of others independently of what they do for me. This is the way God s love is for us.

Personal Questions

• Am I capable to love my enemies?

• Contemplate Jesus, in silence, who at the hour of His death, loved the enemy who killed Him.

Concluding Prayer

How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the Law of Yahweh!

Blessed are those who observe His instructions, who seek Him with all their hearts (Ps 119: 1-2)

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Second Sunday of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help us read the scriptures with the same mind that You read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the bible, You helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of Your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.

Create silence in us so that we may listen to Your voice in creation and in the scriptures, in events and in people, above all, in the poor and suffering. May Your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, may experience the force of Your resurrection and witness to others that You are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice, and peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed the Father to us and sent us Your Spirit. Amen.

Gospel Reading - Luke 9: 28b-36

A Key to the Reading:

A few days earlier, Jesus had said that He, the Son of Man, had to be tried and crucified by the authorities (Lk 9: 22; Mk 8: 31). According to the information in the gospels of Mark and Matthew, the disciples, especially Peter, did not understand what Jesus had said and were scandalized by the news (Mt 16: 22; Mk 8: 32). Jesus reacted strongly and turned to Peter calling him Satan (Mt 16: 23; Mk 8: 33). This was because Jesus’ words did not correspond with the ideal of the glorious Messiah whom they imagined. Luke does not mention Peter’s reaction and Jesus’ strong reply, but he does describe, as do the other Evangelists, the episode of the Transfiguration. Luke sees the Transfiguration as an aid to the disciples so that they may be able to get over the scandal and change their idea of the Messiah (Lk 9: 28-36). Taking the three disciples with Him, Jesus goes up the mountain to pray, and while He is praying, is transfigured. As we read the text, it is good to note what follows: “Who appears with Jesus on the mountain to converse with Him? What is the theme of their conversation? What is the disciples’ attitude?”

A Division of the Text as an Aid to the Reading:

• Luke 9: 28: The moment of crisis

• Luke 9: 29: The change that takes place during the prayer

• Luke 9: 30-31: The appearance of the two men and their conversation with Jesus

• Luke 9: 32-34: The disciples’ reaction

• Luke 9: 35-36: The Father’s voice

The Text:

Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my chosen Son; listen to him." After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.

A Moment of Prayerful Silence

so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.

Some Questions

to help us in our personal reflection.

• What did you like most in this episode of the Transfiguration? Why?

• Who are those who go to the mountain with Jesus? Why do they go?

• Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain next to Jesus. What is the significance of these two people from the Old Testament for Jesus, for the disciples, for the community in the 80s and for us today?

• Which prophecy from the Old Testament is fulfilled in the words of the Father concerning Jesus?

• What is the disciples’ attitude during this episode?

• Has there been a transfiguration in your life? How have such experiences of transfiguration helped you to fulfill your mission better?

• Compare Luke’s description of the Transfiguration of Jesus (Lk 9: 28-36) with his description of the agony of Jesus in the Garden (Lk 22: 39-46). Try to see whether there are any similarities. What is the significance of these similarities?

A Key to the Reading

for those who wish to go deeper into the theme.

The Context of Jesus’ Discourse:

In the two previous chapters of Luke’s Gospel, the innovation brought by Jesus highlights the tensions between the New and the Old Testaments. In the end, Jesus realized that no one had understood His meaning, much less His person. People thought that He was like John the Baptist, Elijah or some other prophet (Lk 9: 18-19). The disciples accepted Him as the Messiah, but a glorious Messiah, according to the expectations issued by the government and the official religion of the temple (Lk 9:  20- 21). Jesus tried to explain to His disciples that the journey foreseen by the prophets was one of suffering because of its commitment to the excluded, and that a disciple could only be a disciple if he/she took up his/her cross (Lk 9: 22-26). But Jesus did not meet with much success. It is in such a context of crisis that the Transfiguration takes place. In the 30s, the experience of the Transfiguration had a very important significance in the life of Jesus and the disciples. It helped them overcome the crisis of faith and to change their ideals concerning the Messiah. In the 80s, when Luke was writing for the Christian communities in Greece, the meaning of the Transfiguration had already been deepened and broadened. In the light of Jesus’ resurrection and of the spread of the Good News among the pagans in almost every country, from Palestine to Italy, the experience of the Transfiguration began to be seen as a confirmation of the faith of the Christian communities in Jesus, Son of God. The two meanings are present in the description and interpretation of the Transfiguration in Luke’s Gospel.

A Commentary on the Text:

• Luke 9: 28: The moment of crisis.

On several occasions Jesus entered into conflict with the people and the religious and civil authorities of his time (Lk 4: 28-29; 5: 21-20; 6: 2-11; 7:30, 39; 8: 37; 9:9). He knew they would not allow Him to do the things He did. Sooner or later they would catch Him. Besides, in that society, the proclamation of the Kingdom, as Jesus did, was not to be tolerated. He either had to withdraw or face death! There were no other alternatives. Jesus did not withdraw. Hence the cross appears on the horizon, not just as a possibility but as a certainty (Lk 9: 22). Together with the cross there also appears the temptation to go on with the idea of the Glorious Messiah and not of the Crucified, suffering servant, announced by the prophet Isaiah (Mk 8: 32-33). At this difficult moment Jesus goes up the mountain to pray, taking with Him Peter, James, and John. Through His prayer, Jesus seeks strength not to lose sense of direction in His mission (cf. Mk 1: 35).

• Luke 9: 29: The change that takes place during the prayer.

As soon as Jesus starts praying, His appearance changes and He appears glorious. His face changes and His clothes become white and shining. It is the glory that the disciples imagined for the Messiah. This transformation told them clearly that Jesus was indeed the Messiah expected by all. But what follows the episode of the Transfiguration will point out that the way to glory is quite different from what they imagined. The Transfiguration will be a call to conversion.

• Luke 9: 30-31: Two men appear speaking with Jesus.

Together with Jesus and in the same glorious state there appear Moses and Elijah, the two major exponents of the Old Testament, representing the Law and the Prophets. They speak with Jesus about “the Exodus brought to fulfilment in Jerusalem.” Thus, in front of the disciples, the Law and the Prophets confirm that Jesus is truly the glorious Messiah, promised in the Old Testament and awaited by the whole people. They further confirm that the way to glory is through the painful way of the exodus. Jesus’ exodus is His passion, death and resurrection. Through His “exodus” Jesus breaks the dominion of the false idea concerning the Messiah spread by the government and by the official religion and that held all ensnared in the vision of a glorious, nationalistic messiah. The experience of the Transfiguration confirmed that Jesus as Messiah Servant constituted an aid to free them from their wrong ideas concerning the Messiah and to discover the real meaning of the Kingdom of God.

• Luke 9: 32-34: The disciples’ reaction.

The disciples were in deep sleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus in His glory and the two men with Him. But Peter’s reaction shows that they were not aware of the real meaning of the glory in which Jesus appeared to them. As often happens with us, they were only aware of what concerned them. The rest escapes their attention. “Master, it is good for us to be here!” And they do not want to get off the mountain anymore! When it is question of the cross, whether on the Mount of the Transfiguration or on the Mount of Olives (Lk 22: 45), they sleep! They prefer the glory to the cross! They do not like to speak or hear of the cross. They want to make sure of the moment of glory on the mountain, to extend it, and they offer to build three tents. Peter did not know what he was saying.

While Peter was speaking, a cloud descended from on high and covered them with its shadow. Luke says that the disciples became afraid when the cloud enfolded them. The cloud is the symbol of the presence of God. The cloud accompanied the multitude on their journey through the desert (Ex 40: 34-38; Num 10: 11-12). When Jesus ascended into heaven, He was covered by a cloud and they no longer saw Him (Acts 1: 9). This was a sign that Jesus had entered forever into God’s world.

• Luke 9: 35-36: The Father’s voice.

A voice is heard from the cloud that says: “This is My Son, the Chosen, listen to Him.” With this same sentence the prophet Isaiah had proclaimed the Messiah-Servant (Isa 42: 1). First Moses and Elijah, now God Himself presents Jesus as the Messiah-Servant who will come to glory through the cross. The voice ends with a final admonition: “Listen to Him!” As the heavenly voice speaks, Moses and Elijah disappear and only Jesus is left. This signifies that from now on only He will interpret the scriptures and the will of God. He is the Word of God for the disciples: “Listen to Him!”

• The proclamation “This is My Son, the Chosen; listen to Him” was very important for the community of the late 80s. Through this assertion God the Father confirmed the faith of Christians in Jesus as Son of God. In Jesus’ time, that is, in the 30s, the expression Son of Man pointed to a very high dignity and mission. Jesus Himself gave a relative meaning to the term by saying that all were children of God (cf. John 10: 33- 35). But for some the title Son of God became a resume of all titles, over one hundred that the first Christians gave Jesus in the second half of the first century. In succeeding centuries, it was the title of Son of God that the Church concentrated all its faith in the person of Jesus.

A Deepening:

• The Transfiguration is told in three of the Gospels: Matthew (Mt 17: 1-9), Mark (Mk 9: 2-8) and Luke (Lk 9: 28-36). This is a sign that this episode contained a very important message. As we said, it was a matter of great help to Jesus, to His disciples and to the first communities. It confirmed Jesus in His mission as Messiah-Servant. It helped the disciples to overcome the crisis that the cross and suffering caused them. It led the communities to deepen their faith in Jesus, Son of God, the One who revealed the Father and who became the new key to the interpretation of the Law and the Prophets. The Transfiguration continues to be of help in overcoming the crisis that the cross and suffering provoke today. The three sleeping disciples are a reflection of all of us. The voice of the Father is directed to us as it was to them: “This is My Son, the Chosen; listen to Him!”

• In Luke’s Gospel there is a great similarity between the scene of the Transfiguration (Lk 9: 28-36) and the scene of the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Olives (Lk 22: 39-46). We may note the following: in both scenes Jesus goes up the mountain to pray and takes with Him three disciples, Peter, James and John. On both occasions, Jesus’ appearance is transformed, and He is transfigured before them; glorious at the Transfiguration, perspiring blood in the Garden of Olives. Both times heavenly figures appear to comfort Him, Moses and Elijah and an angel from heaven. Both in the Transfiguration and in the Agony, the disciples sleep, they seem to be outside the event and they seem not to understand anything. At the end of both episodes, Jesus is reunited with His disciples. Doubtless, Luke intended to emphasize the resemblance between these two episodes. What would that be? Perhaps it is to show that understanding takes time and effort, even for the Apostles, so we should persevere and not be asleep, especially at those crucial moments in our lives when He is revealing Himself to us personally. It is in meditating and praying that we shall come to understand the meaning that goes beyond words, and to perceive the intention of the author. The Holy Spirit will guide us.

• Luke describes the Transfiguration. There are times in our life when suffering is such that we might think: “God has abandoned me! He is no longer with me!” And then suddenly we realize that He has never deserted us, but that we had our eyes bandaged and were not aware of the presence of God. Then everything is changed and transfigured. It is the transfiguration! This happens every day in our lives.

Psalm 42 (41)

“My soul thirsts for the living God!”

As a dear longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for Thee, O God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?

My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me continually, "Where is your God?" These things I remember, as I pour out my soul:

how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my help and my God.

My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember Thee from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep at the roar of Your torrents; all Thy waves and breakers have gone over me.

By day the Lord commands His steadfast love; and at night His song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God, my rock: "Why hast Thou forgotten me?

Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?" As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me continually, "Where is your God?"

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my help and my God.

Final Prayer

Lord Jesus, we thank You for the word that has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May Your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice what Your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, Your mother, not only listen to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Monday, March 17, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Just and holy God, our loving Father,

you offered us Your hand in friendship, and You sent us Your Son Jesus to go with us on the road of obedience and loyalty. God, we often hurt this friendship, we act as if we were not Your sons and daughters. See the look of shame on our faces.

Forgive us, for we count on You. Accept our thanks for continuing to take us as we are and loving us notwithstanding our sins. We ask You this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Luke 6: 36-38

Jesus said to his disciples: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

Reflection

• These three brief verses of today’s Gospel (Lk 6:36-38) are the final part of a brief discourse of Jesus (Lk 6: 20-38). In the first part of His discourse, He addresses Himself to the disciples (Lk 6: 20) and to the rich (Lk 6:  24) proclaiming four beatitudes for the disciples (Lk 6: 20-23), and four curses for the rich (Lk 6: 20-26). In the second part, He addresses Himself to all those who are listening (Lk 6: 27), that is, the immense crowd of poor and sick, who had come from all parts (Lk 6:17-19). The words which He addresses to this people and to all of us are demanding and difficult: to love the enemy (Lk 6, 27), not curse them (Lk 6: 28), offer the other cheek to the one who slaps you on one, and do not complain if someone takes what is ours (Lk 6: 29). How can this difficult advice be understood? The explanation is given in the three verses of today’s Gospel from which we draw the center of the Good News brought by Jesus.

• Luke 6: 36: Be merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful. The Beatitudes for the disciples (Lk 6: 20-23) and the curses against the rich (Lk 6: 24-26) cannot be interpreted as an occasion for the poor to take revenge against the rich. Jesus orders us to have the contrary attitude. He says: Love your enemies! (Lk 6: 27). The change which Jesus wants to bring about in us does not consist in merely changing something to invert the system, because in this way nothing would change. He wants to change the system. The idea which Jesus wants to portray comes from the new experience that He has of God the Father, full of tenderness, who accepts all, good and bad, who makes the sunshine on both the good and on the bad and makes the rain fall on both good and bad (Mt 5: 5, 45). True love does not depend, nor can it depend, on what I receive from others. Love must want the good of the other independently of what he does for me. Because this is how God’s love is for us. He is merciful not only toward those who are good, but with all, even with the ungrateful and the evil (Lk 6: 35). The disciples of Jesus should radiate this merciful love.

• Luke 6: 37-38: Do not judge and you will not be judged. These last words repeat in a clearer way what Jesus had said before: Treat others as you would like them to treat you (Lk 6: 31; cf. Mt 7: 12). If you do not want to be judged, do not judge! If you do not want to be condemned, do not condemn. If you want to be forgiven, then forgive! If you want to receive a good measure, give this good measure to others! Do not wait for the other one to take the initiative. You take it and begin now! You will see that it is like this.

Personal Questions

• Lent is a time of conversion. Which is the conversion which today’s Gospel is asking of me?

• Have you already been merciful as the Heavenly Father is? What are my limits in being merciful and forgiving?

Concluding Prayer

Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of Your name; Yahweh, wipe away our sins, rescue us for the sake of Your name. (Ps 79: 9)

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

God our Father,

may we love You in all things and above all things

and reach the joy You have prepared for us

beyond all our imagining.

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

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 23: 1-12

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "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. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Reflection

Today’s Gospel is part of Jesus’ long criticism of the scribes and the Pharisees (Mt 23: 1-39). Luke and Mark mention only a few lines of this criticism aimed at the religious heads of the time. Only the Gospel of Matthew has a longer presentation of this. This very severe text gives us a glimpse of the polemics which existed in the communities of Matthew with the communities of the Jews of Galilee and Syria of that time.

In reading this text, which is strongly critical of the Pharisees, we have to be very careful not to be unfair to the Jewish people. Many Christians, for centuries, have had attitudes against the Jews and, for this reason, engenders attitudes against the Christians. What is important in meditating on these texts is to discover their objective. Jesus condemns the lack of sincerity in the relationship with God and with neighbor. He is speaking about hypocrisy, that of yesterday as well as that of today - of our hypocrisy!

• Matthew 23: 1-3: The basic error: they say, but they do not do. Jesus addresses Himself to the multitude and to the disciples and criticizes the scribes and the Pharisees. The reason for attacking them is the disjuncture between their words and their actions. They speak, but they do not do. Jesus recognizes the authority and the knowledge of the scribes: “The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses! You must, therefore, do and observe what they tell you, but do not be guided by what they do, since they do not practice what they preach.”

• Matthew 23: 4-7: The fundamental error is manifested in diverse ways. The fundamental error is hypocrisy: “They say, but they do not do.” Jesus enumerates the points which reveal this. Some scribes and Pharisees imposed heavy laws upon the people. They knew the laws well, but they did not practice them; neither did they use their knowledge to lessen the weight imposed upon the people. They did everything possible to be seen and praised; they wore special tunics for prayer; they liked the first places and to be greeted in the public squares. They wanted to be called “Teacher.” They represented a type of community which maintained, legitimized, and nourished the difference of social classes. It legitimized the privileges of the great and the inferior position of the little ones. Now, if there is something which displeases Jesus, it is appearances which deceive.

• Matthew 23: 8-12: How to overcome the fundamental error. How should a Christian community be? All the community functions should be assumed as a service: “The greatest among you must be your servant!” You should call nobody teacher (Rabbi), nor father, nor guide; because the community of Jesus has to maintain, legitimize and nourish not the differences, but rather the fraternal spirit. This is the fundamental law: “You are all brothers and sisters!” The fraternal spirit comes from the experience that Jesus is Father and makes of all of us brothers and sisters. “Anyone who raises himself up will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be raised up.”

The group of the Pharisees! The group of the Pharisees was born in the second century before Christ, with the objective of a more perfect observance of the law of God, especially regarding the prescriptions on purity. They were more open to novelty than the Sadducees. For example, they accepted faith in the resurrection and faith in the angels, something which the Sadducees did not accept. The life of the Pharisees was an exemplary witness: they prayed and studied the law for eight hours a day; they worked eight hours in order to be able to survive; they dedicated eight hours to rest. This is the reason why people respected them very much. And in this way, they helped people to keep their own identity and not to lose it, in the course of centuries.

The so-called Pharisaic mentality. With time, the Pharisees took hold of power and no longer listened to the appeals of the people, nor did they allow them to speak. The word “Pharisee”means“separated.” Their observance was so strict and rigorous that they separated themselves from the rest of the people. This is why they were called “separated.” From this comes the expression “pharisaic mentality.” It is typical of the people who think they can attain justice through the rigid and rigorous observance of the law. Generally, they are people who are afraid, who do not have the courage to assume the risk of liberty and of responsibility. They hide themselves behind the law and authority. When these people obtain an important function, they become harsh and insensitive and indifferent to hide their own imperfection.

Rabbi, Guide, Teacher, Father. These are four titles that Jesus prohibits people to use. Today, in Church, the priests are called “Father.” Many study in the university of the Church and obtain the title of “Doctor” (Teacher). Many people receive spiritual direction and take advice from people who are called “Spiritual directors” (Guides). What is important is to take into account the reason which impelled Jesus to prohibit the use of these titles. If these were used by people in order to affirm their position of authority and their power, these people would be in error and would be criticized by Jesus. If these titles were used to nourish and deepen fraternal spirit and service, they would not be criticized by Jesus.

Personal Questions

• What is my reason for living and working in community?

• How does the community help me to correct and to improve my motivations?

• Do you know of people within the Church who also see themselves as more important or above others because of their position in the Church? Why is this?

Concluding Prayer

I am listening.

What is God's message?

Yahweh's message is peace for His people,

for His faithful, if only they renounce their folly. (Ps 85: 8)

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Joseph, the Spouse of Mary, the Mother of Jesus

LECTIO

Opening Prayer:

Spirit who moves over the water,

calm in us all discordance,

the agitated waves, the noise of the words,

the whirlwind of vanity,

and make the Word which recreates,

arise in silence.

Spirit who in a sigh you whisper

to our spirit the Name of the Father,

come and gather together all our desires,

make them grow in a beam of light

which will be a response to Your light,

the Word of the new Day.

Spirit of God, the sap of love

of the immense tree on which you graft us,

so that all our brothers and sisters

will seem to us as a gift

in the great Body in which

the Word of communion matures.

(Frère Pierre-Yves of Taizé)

Reading of the Gospel: Matthew 1: 16, 18-21, 24a

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

A Moment of Silence:

so that the Word of God may enter into our hearts and enlighten our lives.

MEDITATIO

A Key to the Reading:

The passage of today’s Gospel is taken from the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew which forms part of the section concerning the conception, birth and infancy of Jesus. The center of all this account is the person of Jesus around which are all the events and the persons mentioned. One must keep in mind that the Gospel reveals a theology of the history of Jesus, and so getting close to the Word of God we should get the message which is hidden under the veils of the account without losing ourselves, as Paul so wisely advises us “in foolish speculations,” avoiding “those genealogies and the quibbles and disputes about the Law, they are useless and futile” (Tt 3: 9).

In fact, this text is connected to the genealogy of Jesus, which Matthew arranges with the intention of stressing the dynastic succession of Jesus, the Savior of his people (Mt 1: 21). To Jesus are conferred all the rights inherited from the lineage of David, of “Joseph, son of David” (Mt 1: 20; Lk 2: 4-5) His legal father. For the Biblical and Hebrew world legal paternity was sufficient to confer all the rights of the lineage in question (cf.: the law of the levirate and of adoption (Dt 25: 5ff). That is why from the beginning of the genealogy, Jesus is designed as “Christ the Son of David” (Mt 1: 1) that is, the anointed one of the Lord Son of David, with whom all the promises of God to David His servant, are fulfilled (2 Sam 7: 1-16; 2 Cr 7: 18; 2 Cr 21: 7; Ps 89: 30). This is why Matthew adds to the account of the genealogy and of the conception of Jesus the prophecy of Isaiah: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet.: The young woman is with child and will give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel, which means God with us” (Mt 1: 21-23 and Is 7: 14).

Let us stop to say something, on the spiritual reality of adoption, we can refer to the fact that the elected people possess “the glory, the covenants, the legislation, the cult, the promises,” because “they are Israelites and possess the adoption of sons” (Rm 9: 4). But we also, the new people of God in Christ receive the adoption of children because “when the completion of the time came God sent His Son, born of a woman, born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law, so that we could receive adoption as children” (Gal 4: 4-5). This is the salvation which Jesus has brought to us. Christ “will save His people from their sins” (Mt 1: 21) because He is the “God with us!” (Mt 1: 23) who makes us adopted children of God.

Jesus is born from “Mary who was betrothed to Joseph” (Mt 1: 18a)) who “was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit” (Mt 1: 18b). Matthew does not give the account of the annunciation as Luke does (Lk 1: 26-38), but structures the account from the point of view of the experience of Joseph the just man. The Bible reveals to us that God loves the just and many times chooses them for an important mission, protects them and does not join them to the impious (Gen 18: 23ff). In the Old Testament we find many persons who are considered just. We think of Noah “a good man, an upright man among his contemporaries” (Gen 6: 9). Or also Johoash who “did what Yahweh regards as right” (2 K 12: 3).

A constant idea in the Bible is the “dream” as a privileged place where God makes His plans and designs known, and sometimes reveals the future. The dreams of Jacob at Bethel are well known (Gen 28: 10ff) and Joseph his son, as also those of the cup-bearer and the chief baker imprisoned in Egypt with him (Gen 37: 5ff; Gen 40: 5ff) and the dreams of Pharaoh which revealed the future years of plenty and of famine and want (Gen 41: 1ff).

“An Angel of the Lord“ appeared to Joseph (Mt 1: 20) to reveal to him God’s design. In the Gospels of the infancy frequently the Angel of the Lord is mentioned as the heavenly messenger (Mt 1: 20, 24; 2: 13, 19; Lk 1: 11; 2, 9) and also on other occasions the angel appears to calm, to reveal the plans of God, to heal and to liberate from slavery (cf. Mt 28: 2; Jn 5: 4; Acts 5: 19; 8: 26; 12: 7, 23). Many are the references to the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament where originally the angel represented the Lord himself who guided and protected His people being close to them (cf. Gen 16: 7-16; 22: 12; 24: 7; Ex 3: 3; 23: 20; Tb 5: 4).

Questions to Orient the Meditation and Make it Relevant:

• What is the most important thing to you in this passage? Why?

• In the key to the reading, consideration is given to some terms (adoption, angel, dream, just). What thoughts did these raise in your heart? What relevance can they have for your journey of spiritual maturation?

ORATIO

Psalm 92

It is good to give thanks to Yahweh,

to make music for Your name, Most High,

to proclaim Your faithful love at daybreak,

and Your constancy all through the night,

on the lyre, the ten-stringed lyre,

to the murmur of the harp.

You have brought me joy, Yahweh,

by Your deeds, at the work of Your hands I cry out,

'How great are Your works, Yahweh,

immensely deep Your thoughts!'

Stupid people cannot realize this,

fools do not grasp it.

The wicked may sprout like weeds,

and every evil-doer flourish,

but only to be eternally destroyed;

whereas You are supreme for ever, Yahweh.

Look how Your enemies perish,

how all evil-doers are scattered!

You give me the strength of the wild ox,

You anoint me with fresh oil;

I caught sight of the ambush against me,

overheard the plans of the wicked.

The upright will flourish like the palm tree,

will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.

Planted in the house of Yahweh,

they will flourish in the courts of our God.

In old age they will still bear fruit,

will remain fresh and green,

to proclaim Yahweh's integrity;

my rock, in whom no fault can be found.

Moments for a Prayerful Silence

CONTEMPLATIO

The Christian contemplation of God’s dream, of the plan which God cherishes for the history of humanity does not produce alienation but keeps the consciences vigilant and active and stimulates us to face with courage and altruism the responsibilities which life gives us.

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,

many of us never had it so good, and so we have become smug and self-satisfied, happy in our own little world.

God, may our ears remain open to Your word and our hearts to You and to our brothers and sisters. Do not allow us to forget You, or to place our trust in ourselves. Make us restless for You through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Luke 16: 19-31

Jesus said to the Pharisees: "There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.' Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.' He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.' But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' He said, 'Oh no, Father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"

Reflection

Every time that Jesus has something important to communicate, He creates a story and tells a parable. In this way, through reflection on an invisible reality, He leads those who listen to Him to discover the invisible call of God, who is present in life. A parable is meant to make us think and reflect. For this reason it is important to pay attention to even the smallest details. In the parable in today’s Gospel there are three persons: the poor Lazarus, the rich man without a name, and Father Abraham. In the parable, Abraham represents the thought of God. The rich man without a name represents the dominating ideology of that time. Lazarus represents the silent cry of the poor in the time of Jesus and in all times.

• Luke 16: 19-21: The situation of the rich man and the poor man. The two extremes of society. On the one side, aggressive richness; on the other, the poor man without resources, without rights, covered with wounds, without anybody to accept him, to receive him, except the dogs which came to lick his wounds. What separates both of them is the closed door of the rich man’s house. For the rich man, there is no acceptance nor pity concerning the poor man at his door. But the poor man has a name; the rich man does not. That is, the poor man has his name written in the book of life, not the rich one. The poor man’s name is Lazarus. It means God helps. And through the poor man, God helps the rich man who could have a name in the book of life. But the rich man does not allow himself to be helped by the poor man, because he keeps his door closed. The beginning of this parable is a faithful mirror of what was happening during the time of Jesus and the time of Luke. It is a mirror of everything that is happening today in the world!

• Luke 16:22: The change which reveals the hidden truth. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s embrace. The rich man also died and was buried. In the parable the poor man dies before the rich one. This is a warning for the rich. During the time when the poor man is alive and at the door, there is still the possibility of salvation for the rich man. But when the poor man dies, the only instrument of salvation for the rich man also dies. Now, the poor man is in Abraham’s embrace. The embrace of Abraham is the source of life, where the people of God were born. Lazarus, the poor man, is part of the people of Abraham, from which he was excluded when he was before the rich man’s door. The rich man, who believes that he is a son of Abraham, does not go toward Abraham’s embrace! The introduction to the parable ends here. Now its significance begins to be revealed, through the three conversations between the rich man and Father Abraham.

• Luke 16: 23-26: The first conversation. In the parable, Jesus opens a window on the other side of life, the side of God. It is not a question of Heaven. It is a question of the life which only faith generates and which the rich man, who has no faith, cannot see. It is only in the light of death that this ideology disintegrates; then appears as what the true value of life is. On the part of God, without the deceptive thinking of the ideology, things change. The rich man sees Lazarus in the arms of Abraham and asks to be helped in his suffering. The rich man discovers that Lazarus is his only possible benefactor. But now it is too late! The nameless rich man is pious, because he recognizes Abraham and calls him Father. Abraham responds and calls him son. In reality, this word of Abraham is addressed to all the rich who are alive. In so far as they are alive, they have the possibility of becoming sons and daughters of Abraham if they know how to open the door to Lazarus, the poor man, the only one who in God’s name can help them. Salvation for the rich man does not consist in Lazarus giving him a drop of fresh water to refresh his tongue, but rather, that he, the rich man, open the closed door to the poor man so as fill the great abyss that exists.

• Luke 16: 27-29: The second conversation. The rich man insists: “Then, Father, I beg you to send Lazarus to my father’s house, because I have five brothers!” The rich man does not want his brothers to end in this place of suffering. Lazarus, the poor man, is the only true intermediary between God and the rich. He is the only one, because it is only to the poor that the rich have to return what they had and, thus, re-establish the justice which has been damaged! The rich man is worried for his brothers, but was never concerned about the poor! Abraham’s response is clear: “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them!” They have the Bible! The rich man had the Bible. He knew it by heart. But he was never aware that the Bible had something to do with the poor. The rich man’s key to understanding the Bible is the poor man sitting at his door!

• Luke 16: 30-31: The third conversation. “No, Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent!” The rich man recognizes that he is wrong, he has committed an error, because he speaks of repenting, something which he never heard during his life. He wants a miracle, a resurrection! But this type of resurrection does not exist. The only resurrection is that of Jesus. Jesus, risen from the dead comes to us in the person of the poor, of those who have no rights, of those who have no land, of those who have no food, of those who have no house, of those who have no health. In his final response, Abraham is clear and convincing: “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead!” The conversation ends this way and is the end of the parable!

The key to understanding the sense of the Bible is the poor Lazarus, sitting before the door! God presents Himself in the person of the poor, sitting at our door, to help us cross the enormous abyss which the rich have created. Lazarus is also Jesus, the poor and servant Messiah, who was not accepted, but whose death changed all things radically. And everything changes in the light of the death of the poor. The place of torment, of torture, is the situation of the person without God. Even if the rich man thinks that he has religion and faith, in fact, he is not with God, because he does not open the door to the poor, as Zacchaeus did (Lk 19: 1-10).

Personal Questions

• How do we treat the poor? Do they have a name? In my attitude toward them, am I like Lazarus or like the rich man?

• When the poor come in contact with me, do they hear the Good News?

• Who do I consider are the poor? There are many kinds of poverty. Identifying these kinds of poverty should cause us to expand who we help, rather than limit us to “giving a donation” and not becoming personally involved.

Concluding Prayer

How blessed is anyone who rejects the advice of the wicked and does not take a stand in the path that sinners tread, nor a seat in company with cynics, but who delights in the law of Yahweh and meditates on His law day and night. (Ps 1: 1-2)

Friday, March 21, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

God, we do not want to die; we want to live.

We want to be happy but without paying the price. We belong to our times, when sacrifice and suffering are out of fashion. God, make our life worth living.

Give us back the age-old realization, that life means to be born again and again in pain, that it may become again a journey of hope to You, together with Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-46

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.' They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?" They answered him, “He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times." Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit." When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he was speaking about them. And although they were attempting to arrest him, they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

Reflection

The text of today’s Gospel forms part of a greater whole which includes Mathew 21: 23-40. The chief priests and the elders had asked Jesus by what authority He did those things (Mt 21: 23). They considered themselves the custodians of everything and they did not want anybody to do things without their permission. Jesus’ answer is divided into three parts:

• 1) He, in turn, asks them a question because He wants to know, in their opinion, if John the Baptist was from heaven or from earth (Mt 21: 24-27);

• 2) He then tells them the parable of the two sons (Mt 21: 28-32);

• 3) He tells them the parable of the vineyard (Mt 21: 33-46), which is today’s Gospel.

• Matthew 21: 33-40: The parable of the vineyard. Jesus begins as follows: “Listen to another parable: There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard, he fenced it around, dug a winepress in it and built a tower.” The parable is a beautiful summary of the history of Israel, taken from the prophet Isaiah (Is 5: 1-7). Jesus addresses Himself to the chief priests, to the elders (Mt 21: 23) and to the Pharisees (Mt 21: 45) and He gives a response to the question which they addressed to Him about the origin of His authority (Mt 21: 23). Through this parable, Jesus clarifies several things:

• (a) He reveals the origin of His authority: He is the Son, the heir;

• (b) He denounces the abuse of the authority of the tenants, that is of the priests and elders who were not concerned and did not take care of the people of God;

• (c) He defends the authority of the prophets, sent by God, but who were killed by the priests and the elders;

• (d) He unmasks the authority by which they manipulate the religion and kill the Son, because they do not want to lose the source of income which they have accumulated for themselves throughout the centuries.

• Matthew 21: 41: The sentence which they give to themselves. At the end of the parable Jesus asks: “Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They are not aware that the parable was speaking precisely of them. This is why, with the response that they give, they decree their own condemnation: “The chief priests and the elders of the people answered: ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him at the proper time’.” Several times Jesus uses this same method. He leads the person to tell the truth about himself, without knowing that he is condemning himself. For example, in the case of the Pharisee who condemns the young woman, considering her a sinner (Luke 7: 42-43), and in the case of the parable of the two sons (Mt 21: 28-32).

• Matthew 21: 42-46: The sentence given by themselves was confirmed by their behavior. From the clarification given by Jesus, the chief priests, the elders and the Pharisees understand that the parable is about them, but they do not convert. Rather, they keep to their own plan to kill Jesus. They will reject “the cornerstone.” But they do not have the courage to do it openly because they fear the reaction of the people.

The diverse groups which held the power at the time of Jesus. In today’s Gospel three groups appear, which, at that time, governed: the priests, the elders, and the Pharisees. Then, some brief information on the power which each of these groups and others possessed is given:

• The priests: They were the ones in charge of the worship in the Temple. The people paid the Temple a tithe and other taxes and offerings. The High Priest occupied a very important place in the life of the nation, especially after the exile. He was chosen and appointed from among the three or four aristocratic families who possessed more power and riches.

• The elders or the Chief Priests of the People: They were the local leaders in the different villages of the city. Their origin came from the heads of the ancient tribes.

• The Sadducees: they were the lay aristocratic elite of society who wanted to maintain a priestly caste. Many of them were rich merchants or landlords. From the religious point of view they were liberal in their willingness to incorporate Hellenism into their lives. They did not accept the changes supported by the Pharisees, for example, faith in the resurrection and the existence of angels.

• The Pharisees: Pharisee means “separated.” They believed in the Oral Law handed down from Moses and that through the perfect observance of the Law of purity, people would succeed in being pure, separated and holy as the Law and Tradition demanded! Because of the exemplary witness of their life according to the norms of the time, their moral authority was widespread in the villages of Galilee.

• Scribe or doctor of the Law: They were the ones in charge of teaching. They dedicated their life to the study of the Law of God and taught people what to do to observe all the Law of God. Not all the Scribes belonged to the same line. Some were united with the Pharisees, others with the Sadducees.

Personal Questions

• Have you sometimes felt that you were unduly controlled or misunderstood? What was your reaction? Was it the same as that of Jesus?

• If Jesus returned today and told us the same parable, would it be as relevant? What would the reaction be from society and on a personal level?

Concluding Prayer

As far as heaven is above the earth, so strong is the faithful love of the Lord for those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far from us does He put our faults. (Ps 103: 11-12)

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Opening Prayer

Faithful Father, You are our God of grace, mercy and forgiveness. When mercy and pardon sound paternalistic to modern ears, make us realize, Lord, that You challenge us to face ourselves and to become new people, responsible for our destiny and for the happiness of others.

Make us responsive to Your love through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." So to them Jesus addressed this parable. "A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.' So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, 'How many of my father's hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers."' So he got up and went back to his father.

While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.' But his father ordered his servants, 'Quickly, bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.' Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, 'Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him.

He said to his father in reply, 'Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who wasted your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.' He said to him, 'My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.'"

Reflection

Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel includes the following information: The tax collectors and sinners were all crowding around to listen to Him and the Pharisees and Scribes complained saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Lk 15: 1-3). Luke presents these three parables which are bound together by the same theme: the lost sheep (Lk 15: 4-7), the lost drachma (Lk 15: 8-10), the lost son (Lk 15: 11-32). This last parable constitutes the theme of today’s Gospel.

• Luke 15: 11-13: The younger son’s decision. A man had two sons. The younger one asks for the part of the estate which will be his. The father divides everything between the two and each receives his part. To receive the inheritance is not any merit of ours. It is a gratuitous gift. The inheritance of the gifts of God is distributed among all human beings, whether Jewish or Gentiles, whether Christians or non-Christians. All receive something of the inheritance of the Father, but not all take care of it in the same way. The younger son leaves and goes to a distant country and squanders his money on a life of debauchery, getting away from the father. At the time of Luke, the elder one represented the communities which came from Judaism, and the younger represented the gentile communities. Today, who would be the younger and who the elder?

• Luke 15: 14-19: The disillusionment and the will to return to the father’s home. The need to find some food makes the young man lose his freedom, and he becomes a farm worker and takes care of the pigs. This was the condition of life of millions of slaves in the Roman Empire at the time of Luke. The situation in which he finds himself makes the young man remember how he was in his father’s home. Finally, he prepares the words which he will say to his Father: “I no longer deserve to be called your son! Treat me as one of your hired men!” The hired man executes the orders and fulfills the law of servants. The younger son wants to fulfill the law as the Pharisees and the Scribes of the time of Jesus wanted (Lk 15: 1). The missionaries of the Pharisees accused the Gentiles who were converted to the God of Abraham (Mt 23: 15). At the time of Luke, some Christians who converted from Judaism submitted themselves to the yoke of the Law (Gal 1: 6-10).

• Luke 15: 20-24: The joy of the father when he meets his younger son again. The parable says that the younger son was still a long way off from the house, but the father saw him, and ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him. The impression given by Jesus is that the Father remained all the time at the window to see if his son would appear around the corner. According to our human way of thinking and feeling, the joy of the father seems exaggerated. He does not even allow his son to finish his words. Nobody listens! The father does not want his son to be his slave. He wants him to be his son! This is the Good News which Jesus has brought to us! A new robe, new sandals, a ring on his finger, the calf, the feast! In the immense joy of the encounter, Jesus allows us to see how great the sadness of the father is because of the loss of his son. God was very sad and the people now become aware of this, seeing the immense joy of the father because of the encounter with his son! It is joy shared with all in the feast that he has prepared.

• Luke 15: 25-28b: The reaction of the older son. The older son returns from his work in the fields and finds that there is a feast in the house. He refuses to enter. He wants to know what is happening. When he is told the reason for the feast, he is very angry and does not want to go in. He thinks that he is in the right. He does not like the feast and he does not understand the why of his father’s joy. This is a sign that he did not have great intimacy with the father, in spite of their having lived in the same house. In fact, if he had had this intimacy, he would have noticed the father’s sadness for the loss of his younger son and would have understood his joy when the son returned. Those who live in a state of anxiety about the observance of the Law of God run the risk of forgetting God himself! The young son, even being far away from home, seemed to know the father better than the older son who lived with him. The younger one had the courage to go back home to his father, while the older one no longer wants to enter the the father’s house. He does not realize that the father, without him, will lose his joy, because he, the older son, is son as much as the younger one!

• Luke 15: 28a-30: The attitude of the father and the older son’s response. The Father goes out of the house and begs the older son to come inside. But the son answers, “All these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed any orders of yours, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property, he and his loose women, you kill the calf we had been fattening.” The older son also wants feast and joy, but only with his own friends, not with his brother and much less with his father. He does not even call his own brother “brother,” but rather “this son of yours,” as if he were no longer his brother. And he, the older brother, speaks about prostitutes. His malice makes him interpret his younger brother’s life in this way. How many times does the older brother misinterpret the life of the younger brother. How many times do we misinterpret the life and the practices of others! The attitude of the father is the contrary! He accepts the younger son but does not want to lose the older son. Both of them form part of the family. One cannot exclude the other!

• Luke 15: 31-32: The father’s final response. Like the father who does not pay attention to the arguments of the younger son, in the same way he does not pay attention to those of the older son. He says, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours, but it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found!” Was the older son really aware that he was always with his father and found in his presence the reason for his joy? The father’s declaration - “All I have is yours!” also includes the younger son who has returned! The older brother does not have the right to make a distinction, and if he wants to be the father’s son, he has to accept the father as he is and not as he would like him to be! The parable does not say what was the older brother’s final response. It is up to the older son, who we are, to give it!

• The one who experiences the gratuitous and surprising eruption of the love of God in his life becomes joyful and wishes to communicate this joy to others. The salvific action of God is a source of joy: “Rejoice with me!” (Lk 15: 6, 9). And from this experience of God’s gratuitousness the sense of feast and joy emerges (Lk 15: 32). At the end of the parable, the father asks them to be happy and to celebrate, to feast. The joy is threatened by the older son, who does not want to enter the house. He thinks he has the right to joy only with his own friends and does not want to share joy with all the members of the same human family. He represents those who consider themselves just and observant, and who think that they do not need any conversion, just like the keepers of the Law in Jesus’ time.

Personal Questions

• What is the image of God that I have had since my childhood? Has it changed as I changed, and why?

• With which of the two sons do I identify with: the younger one or the older one? Why?

• This parable has references to communities (Pharisees/Gentiles) as well as to individuals. Do those references apply today?

Concluding Prayer

Bless Yahweh, my soul, from the depths of my being, His holy name; bless Yahweh, my soul, never forget all His acts of kindness. (Ps 103: 1-2)

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Third Sunday of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help us read the Scriptures in the same way that You read them to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. With the light of the Word in the Bible, You helped them to discover the presence of God in the distressing events surrounding Your condemnation to death. The cross, which seemed to put an end to all hope, was revealed to them as the source of life and resurrection.

Create in us the silence necessary to hear Your voice in creation and in the Scriptures, in the events of daily life and in people, above all in the poor and the suffering. May Your word give us direction, just as it did to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, so that we too will experience the power of Your resurrection and bear witness to others that You are alive in our midst as the source of community, of justice and of peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, son of Mary, You who revealed the Father to us and sent us Your Spirit. Amen.

Gospel Reading – John 4: 5-42

A Key for Unlocking the Text:

The text describes the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. It is a very human conversation, which shows how Jesus related to people and how He Himself learned and became enriched in talking with others. While reading the text, try to be aware of what surprises you most about the attitude both of Jesus and the woman.

A Division of the Text to Assist a Careful Reading:

• Jn 4: 5-6: Sets the scene in which the dialogue takes place

• Jn 4: 7-26: Describes the dialogue between Jesus and the woman

7-15: about water and thirst

• John 6-18: about the husband and family

19-25: about religion and the place for adoration

• Jn 4: 27-30: Describes the effect of the conversation on the woman

• Jn 4: 31-38: Describes the effect of the conversation on Jesus

• Jn 4: 39-42: Describes the effect on the mission of Jesus in Samaria

The Text:

• 5-6: So He came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as He was from His journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

• 7-15: There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to Him, "How is it that You, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The woman said to Him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."

• 16-18: Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered Him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly."

• 19-26: The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

• 27-30: Just then His disciples came. They marvelled that He was talking with a woman, but none said, "What do you wish?" or "Why are You talking with her?" So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city, and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" They went out of the city and were coming to Him.

• 31-38: Meanwhile the disciples besought Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him food?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to accomplish His work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

• 39-42: Many Samaritans from that city believed in Him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."

A Moment of Silent Prayer

so that the Word of God can enter into us and light up our lives.

Some Questions

to help us in our meditation and prayer.

• What most attracted your attention in Jesus’ attitude toward the woman during the dialogue? What method did Jesus use to help the woman become aware of a deeper dimension to life?

• What most attracted your attention about the attitude of the Samaritan woman during her conversation with Jesus? How did she influence Jesus?

• Where in the Old Testament is water associated with the gift of life and the gift of the Holy Spirit?

• How does Jesus’ attitude during the conversation question me or touch something within me or correct me?

• The Samaritan woman led the discussion towards religion. If you could come across Jesus and talk to Him, what would you like to talk about? Why?

• Do I adore God in spirit and in truth or do I find my security in rituals and regulations?

A Key to the Reading

for those who wish to go deeper.

The Symbolism of water:

Jesus uses the word water in two senses. The first sense is the material, normal sense of water that one drinks; the second is the symbolic sense as the source of life and the gift of the Spirit. Jesus uses a language that people can understand and, at the same time, awakens in them the desire to go deeper and to discover a more profound meaning to life.

The symbolic sense of water has its roots in the Old Testament, where it is frequently a symbol for the action of the Spirit of God in people. For example, Jeremiah compares running water to water in a cistern (Jer 2: 13). The more water is taken from a cistern, the less it has; the more water is taken from a stream of living water, the more it has. Other texts from the Old Testament: Is 12: 3; 49: 10; 55: 1; Ezek 47: 1-3. Jesus knew the traditions of His people and He uses these in His conversation with the Samaritan woman. Suggesting the symbolic meaning of water, He suggests to her (and to the readers) various episodes and verses from the Old Testament.

The Dialogue Between Jesus and the Woman:

Jesus meets the woman at the well, a traditional place for meetings and conversations (Gen 24: 10-27; 29: 1-14). He starts off from His own very real need because He is thirsty. He does this in such a way that the woman feels needed and she serves Him. Jesus makes Himself needy in her regard. From His question, he makes it possible for the woman to become aware that He depends on her to give Him something to drink. Jesus awakens in her the desire to help and to serve.

The conversation between Jesus and the woman has two levels:

• The superficial level, in the material sense of water that quenches someone’s thirst, and in the normal sense of husband as the father of a family. At this level the conversation is tense and difficult and does not flow. The Samaritan woman has the upper hand. At the beginning, Jesus tries to meet her by talking about daily chores (fetching water), but He does not succeed. Then He tries by talking about family (call your husband), and still there is no breakthrough. Finally the woman speaks about religion (the place of adoration). Jesus then gets through to her by the door she herself has opened.

• The deeper level, in the symbolic sense of water as the image of the new life brought by Jesus, and of the husband as the symbol of the union of God with the people. At this level, the conversation flows perfectly. After revealing that He Himself is offering the water of new life, Jesus says, "Go and get your husband and then return." In the past, the Samaritans had five husbands, or five idols, attached to the five groups of people who were taken off by the King of Assyria (2 Kings 17: 30-31). The sixth husband, the one the woman had at present, was not truly her husband: "the one you have now is not your husband" (Jn 4: 18). What the people had did not respond to their deepest desire: union with God, as a husband who unites himself to his spouse (Is 62: 5; 54: 5). The true husband, the seventh, is Jesus, as promised by Hosea: "I will espouse you to me forever; I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy. I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the Lord." (Hos 2: 21-22). Jesus is the bridegroom who has arrived (Mk 2: 19) to bring new life to the woman who has been searching for it her whole life long, and until now, has never found it. If the people accept Jesus as "husband," they will have access to God wherever they are, both in spirit and in truth (vv. 23-24).

Jesus declares His thirst to the Samaritan woman but He does not drink. This is a sign that we are talking about a symbolic thirst, which had to do with His mission: the thirst to accomplish the will of His Father (Jn 4: 34). This thirst is ever present in Jesus and will be until His death. At the moment of His death, He says, "I am thirsty" (Jn 19: 28). He declares His thirst for the last time and so He can say, "It is accomplished." Then He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. (Jn 19: 30). His mission had been accomplished.

The Importance of Women in the Gospel of John:

In John’s Gospel, women feature prominently seven times, which are decisive for the spreading of the Good News. To women are given functions and missions, some of which, in the other Gospels, are attributed to men:

• At the wedding feast in Cana, the mother of Jesus recognizes the limits of the Old Testament and affirms the law of the Gospel, "Do whatever He tells you." (Jn 2: 1-11).

• The Samaritan woman is the first person to have revealed to her by Jesus the great secret, that He is the Messiah. "It is I who speak to you." (Jn 4: 26). She then becomes the evangelizer of Samaria (Jn 4: 28-30, 39-42).

• The woman, who is called an adulteress, at the moment of receiving the forgiveness of Jesus, becomes the judge of the patriarchal society (or of male power) that seeks to condemn her. (Jn 8: 1-11).

• In the other Gospels it is Peter who makes the solemn profession of faith in Jesus (Mt 16: 16; Mk 8: 29; Lk 9: 20). In the Gospel of John, it is Martha, sister of Mary and Lazarus, who makes the solemn profession of faith (Jn 11: 27).

• Mary, the sister of Martha, anoints the feet of Jesus for the day of his burial (Jn. 12: 7). At the time of Jesus, the one who died on a cross was not buried nor embalmed. Mary anticipated the anointing of Jesus’ body. This means that she accepted Jesus as the Messiah-Suffering Servant, who must die on the cross. Peter did not accept this (Jn.13: 8) and sought to dissuade Jesus from this path (Mt. 16: 22). In this way, Mary is presented as a model for the other disciples.

• At the foot of the cross, Jesus says, "Woman, behold your son; son, behold your mother" (Jn. 19: 25-27). The Church is born at the foot of the cross. Mary is the model for the Christian community.

• Mary Magdalene must announce the Good News to the brothers (Jn. 20: 11-18). She receives an order, without which all the other orders given to the apostles would have no effect or value.

• The Mother of Jesus appears twice in John’s Gospel: at the beginning, at the wedding feast in Cana (Jn. 2: 1-5), and at the end, at the foot of the cross (Jn. 19: 25-27). In both cases, she represents the Old Testament that waits for the arrival of the New, and, in both cases, assists its arrival. Mary unites what has gone before with what would come later. At Cana, it is she, the Mother of Jesus, symbol of the Old Testament, who perceives its limits and takes steps so that the New will arrive. At the hour of Jesus’ death, it is the Mother of Jesus, who welcomes the "Beloved Disciple." In this case the Beloved Disciple is the new community, which has grown around Jesus. It is the child that has been born from the Old Testament. In response to Jesus’ request, the son, the New Testament, welcomes the Mother, the Old Testament, into his home. The two must journey together. The New Testament cannot be understood without the Old. It would be a building without a foundation. The Old without the New would be incomplete. It would be a tree without fruit.

Psalm 19 (18)

God Speaks to Us Through Nature and Through the Bible

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a tent for the sun, which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and there is nothing hid from its heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever; the ordinances of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover by them is Thy servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. But who can discern his errors? Clear thou me from hidden faults.

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Final Prayer

Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your word, which has helped us see better the will of the Father. Let Your Spirit illumine all that we do and give us the strength to carry out what Your Word has made us see. Let us, like Mary, Your Mother, not only listen to the Word but also put it into practice. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Monday, March 24, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Just and holy God, our loving Father,

You offered us Your hand in friendship and You sent us Your Son Jesus to go with us on the road of obedience and loyalty.

God, we often hurt this friendship; we act as if we were not Your sons and daughters. See the look of shame on our faces. Forgive us, for we count on You.

Accept our thanks for continuing to take us as we are and loving us notwithstanding our sins.

We ask You this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Luke 4: 24-30

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Reflection

Today’s Gospel (Lk 4: 24-30) forms part of a larger part (Lk 4: 14-32). Jesus had presented His program in the synagogue of Nazareth, using a text from Isaiah which spoke about the poor, the prisoners, the blind and the oppressed (Is 61: 1-2) and which mirrored the situation of the people of Galilee at the time of Jesus. In the name of God, Jesus takes a stand and defines His mission: to proclaim the Good News to the poor, to proclaim release to prisoners, to give back sight to the blind, to restore liberty to the oppressed. After finishing the reading, He updates the text and says, “Today this text is being fulfilled even while you are listening!” (Lk 4: 21). All those present were astonished (Lk 4: 16, 22b). But immediately after there was a reaction to discredit. The people in the synagogue were scandalized and did not want to know anything about Jesus. They said, “Is He not the son of Joseph?” (Lk 4: 22b). Why were they scandalized? What is the reason for this [unexpected] reaction?

Because Jesus quoted the text from Isaiah only to the part that says, “to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord,” and He omits the end of the sentence, which says, “to proclaim a day of vengeance for our God” (Is 61: 2). The people of Nazareth remained surprised because Jesus omitted the phrase on vengeance. They wanted the Good News of the liberation of the oppressed to be an action of vengeance on the part of God against the oppressors. In this case the coming of the Kingdom would be only a superficial social change, and not a change or conversion of the system. Jesus does not accept this way of thinking. His experience of God the Father helps Him to understand better the significance of the prophecies. He takes away the vengeance. The people of Nazareth do not accept that proposal, and the authority of Jesus begins to diminish: “Is He not Joseph’s son?”

• Luke 4: 24: No prophet is ever accepted in his own country. Jesus answers, “No prophet is ever accepted in his own country!” In fact, they did not accept the new image of God which Jesus communicated to them through this new and freer interpretation of Isaiah. The message of the God of Jesus went beyond the limits of the Jewish people and opened itself to accept the excluded and all humanity.

• Luke 4: 25-27: Two stories of the Old Testament. In order to help the community to get beyond the scandal and to understand the universality of God, Jesus uses two well known stories of the Old Testament: one of Elijah and the other one of Elisha. Through these stories He criticized the people of Nazareth who were so closed up in themselves. Elijah was sent to the foreign widow of Zarephah (1 Kg 17: 7-16). Elisha was sent to take care of Naaman of Syria (2 Kg 5: 14). The people of Nazareth felt threatened by this. Paul makes a similar statement with similar results too (Acts 22: 21)

• Luke 4: 28-30: They intended to throw Him off the cliff, but He passed straight through the crowd and walked away. What Jesus said did not calm the people down. On the contrary! The use of these two biblical passages  caused them to become more angry. The community of Nazareth reached the point of wanting to kill Jesus. And thus, at the moment in which He presented His plan to accept the excluded, Jesus Himself was excluded! But He remained calm! The anger of the others did not make Him change His mind. In this way, Luke indicates that it is difficult to overcome the mentality of privilege which is closed up in itself. And he showed that the polemic attitude of the gentiles had already existed in the time of Jesus. Jesus had the same difficulty which Luke had with the Hebrew community in his time.

Personal Questions

• How do I carry on the gift of the Good News in the world today?

• Who are the excluded whom we should accept more warmly in our community?

• Does taking on poverty, oppression, or blindness (in all its forms) start on a personal level and spread to my community, or do I wait for the community to act before taking personal action?

Concluding Prayer

My whole being yearns and pines for Yahweh's courts; My heart and my body cry out for joy to the living God. (Ps 84: 2)

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Solemnity – The Annunciation of the Lord

Opening Prayer

God of the poor and the humble, we thank You today for choosing Mary as the Virgin Mother of Jesus, Your Son. Her faith and willing service opened the way to Your new world. Dispose us to seek Your will and to cooperate with Your plans that we too, like Mary, may give to the world its Savior Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Lord.

Gospel Reading – Luke 1: 26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

He went in and said to her, “Rejoice, you who enjoy God's favor! The Lord is with you.” She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, “Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favor. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David; He will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and His reign will have no end.”

Mary said to the angel, “But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?”' The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.”

Mary said, “You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.

Reflection

The visit of the angel to Mary reminds us of the visit of God to different women of the Old Testament: Sarah, mother of Isaac (Gen 18: 9-15), Anne, mother of Samuel (1 Sam 1: 9-18), the mother of Samson (Jgs 13: 2-5). All of them announced the birth of a son with an important mission in God’s plan.

The account begins with the expression “in the sixth month.” It is the sixth month of the pregnancy of Elizabeth. The need of Elizabeth, a woman advanced in age who is expecting her first son with the risk of delivery, is the background of this entire story. Elizabeth is mentioned at the beginning (Lk 1: 26) and at the end of the visit of the angel (Lk 1: 36, 39).

• The angel says, “Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favor, the Lord is with you!”  Similar words were said also to Moses (Ex 3: 12), to Jeremiah (Jer 1: 8), to Gideon (Jgs 6: 12) and to others with an important mission in God’s plan. Mary is surprised at the greeting and tries to understand the significance of these words. She is practical. She wants to understand. She does not accept just any invitation.

• The angel answers: “Do not be afraid!” Just as it happened in the visit of the angel to Zechariah, the first greeting of God is always: “Do not be afraid!” Immediately the angel recalls the promises of the past which will be fulfilled thanks to the son who will be born and who is to receive the name of Jesus. He will be called the Son of the Most High and in Him the Kingdom of God will be realized. This is the explanation of the angel in such a way that Mary is not afraid.

• Mary is aware of the mission which she is about to receive, but she continues to be practical. She does not allow herself to be drawn by the greatness of the offer and knows her condition. She examines the offer through criteria which she has available. Humanly speaking, it was not possible: “But how can this come about? I have no knowledge of man.”

• The angel explains that the Holy Spirit, present in God’s Word since the creation (Gen 1: 2), is able to realize things which seem impossible. This is why the Holy One who will be born of Mary will be called Son of God. The miracle repeats itself right up to today. When the Word of God is accepted by us, something new happens, thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit! Something new and surprising such as a son born of a virgin or a son born to a woman of advanced age, like Elizabeth, whom all said was barren, that she could not have children! And the angel adds, “See, your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible with God.”

• The response of the angel clarifies everything for Mary, and she surrenders: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word.” Mary uses for herself the title of a servant, Handmaid of the Lord. This title from Isaiah represents the mission of the people not as a privilege, but rather as a service to other people (Is 42: 1-9; 49: 3-6). Later Jesus will define His mission as a service: “I have not come to be served, but to serve!” (Mt 20: 28). He learned from his Mother!

Reflection

• What struck you the most in the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary?

• Jesus praises his Mother when He says: “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.” (Lk 11: 28). How does Mary relate to the Word of God during the visit of the angel?

Concluding Prayer

To Yahweh belong the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live there; it is He who laid its foundations on the seas, on the flowing waters fixed it firm. (Ps 24: 1-2)

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,

Your prophets remind us in season and out of season of our responsibilities toward You and toward the world of people.

When they disturb and upset us, let it be a holy disturbance that makes us restless, eager to do Your will and to bring justice and love around us.

We ask You this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 5: 17-19

Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Reflection

Today’s Gospel (Mt 5: 17-19) teaches how to observe the law of God in its complete fulfillment (Mt 5: 17-19). Matthew writes in order to help the communities of converted Jews overcome the criticism of the brothers of their own race who accused them, saying, “You are unfaithful to the Law of Moses.” Jesus Himself had been accused of infidelity to the Law of God. Matthew has Jesus’ clarifying response to His accusers. Thus, Matthew sheds some light to help the communities solve their problems.

Using images of daily life, with simple and direct words, Jesus had said that the mission of the community, its reason for being, is that of being salt and light! He had given some advice regarding each one of the two images. Then follow the brief verses of today’s Gospel.

• Matthew 5: 17-18: Not one dot, nor one stroke is to disappear from the Law. There were several different tendencies in the first Christian communities. Some thought that it was not necessary to observe the laws of the Old Testament, because we are saved by faith in Jesus and not by the observance of the Law (Rm 3: 21-26). Others accepted Jesus, the Messiah, but they did not accept the liberty of spirit with which some of the communities lived the message of Jesus. They thought that being Jews, they had to continue to observe the laws of the Old Testament (Acts 15: 1, 5). But there were Christians who lived so fully in the freedom of the Spirit, who no longer looked at the life of Jesus of Nazareth, nor to the Old Testament that they even went so far as to say, “Anathema Jesus!” (1 Cor 12: 3). Observing these tensions, Matthew tries to find some balance between both extremes. The community should be a place where the balance can be attained and lived. Jesus’ answer to those who criticized Him continued to be relevant for the communities: “I have not come to abolish the law, but to complete it!” The communities could not be against the Law, nor could they close themselves off in the observance of the Law. Like Jesus, they should advance and show in practice, the objective thst the Law wanted to attain in people’s lives, that is, in the perfect practice of love.

• Matthew 5: 17-18: Not one dot or stroke will disappear from the Law. It is for those who wanted to get rid of the law altogether that Matthew recalls the other parable of Jesus: “Anyone who breaks even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” The great concern in Matthew’s Gospel is to show that the Old Testament, Jesus of Nazareth, and the life in the Spirit cannot be separated. The three of them form part of the same and unique plan of God and communicate to us the certainty of faith: The God of Abraham and of Sarah is present in the midst of the community by faith in Jesus of Nazareth who sends us His Spirit.

Personal Questions

• How do I see and live God’s law: as a freedom to do anything I please, as an imposition which restricts me, or as a guide to grow in love?

• What can we do today for our brothers and sisters who consider all of this type of discussion as obsolete and not relevant?

• How does this view of the Law and the Commandments affect me? As a line which defines sin, as rules to avoid vice, or as a guide in attaining virtue?

Concluding Prayer

Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem, Zion, praise your God.

For He gives strength to the bars of your gates, He blesses your children within you. (Ps 145: 12-13)

Thursday, March 27, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,

many of us never had it so good and so we have become smug and self-satisfied, happy in our own little world.

God, may our ears remain open to Your word and our hearts to You and to our brothers and sisters. Do not allow us to forget You, or to place our trust in ourselves. Make us restless for You through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Luke 11: 14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute, and when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed. Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters."

Reflection

Today’s Gospel is that of Luke. We already meditated on the parallel text in Mark (Mk 3: 22-27) during January.

• Luke 11: 14-16: The diverse reactions before the expulsion of a devil. Jesus had expelled a devil which was mute. The expulsion produced two different reactions. On the one side, the crowd of people who remain astonished and surprised. The people accept Jesus and believe in Him. On the other side, those who do not accept Jesus and do not believe in Him. Among the latter, some said that Jesus cast out devils in the name of Beelzebul, the prince of devils, and others wanted a sign from heaven. Mark says that it was a question of the Scribes who had come from Jerusalem (Mk 3: 22), who were not in agreement with the liberty of Jesus. They wanted to defend tradition against the message of Jesus.

• Luke 11: 17-22: Jesus’ answer is divided into three parts:

• 1st part: Comparison with a divided kingdom. (11: 17-18a) Jesus denounces the absurdity of the calumny of the Scribes. To say that he casts out devils with the help of the prince of devils means to deny the evidence. It is the same thing as saying that water is dry and that the sun is darkness. The doctors of Jerusalem slandered Him because they did not know how to explain the benefits which Jesus accomplished for the people. They were afraid to lose their position of leadership. They felt threatened in their authority before the people.

• 2nd part: through whom do your own sons drive them out? (11: 18b-20) Jesus provokes the accusers and asks, “But if it is through Beelzebul that I drive out devils, in whose name do your disciples drive them out? Let them respond and explain themselves! If I drive out the devil through the finger of God, then the Kingdom of God has indeed caught you unawares.”

• 3rd part: when someone stronger than himself attacks and defeats him, the stronger one takes away all weapons. (11: 21-22) Jesus compares the devil to a strong man. Nobody, except a stronger person, can rob the house of a strong man: Jesus is the strongest. This is why He succeeds in entering the house and in getting hold of the strong man. He succeeds in driving out the devils. Jesus seizes the strong man and now robs his house, that is, He liberates the people who were under the power of evil. The Prophet Isaiah had used the same comparison to describe the coming of the Messiah (Is 49: 24-25). This is why Luke says that the expulsion of the devil is an obvious sign that the Kingdom of God has arrived.

• Luke 11: 23: Anyone who is not with Me is against Me. Jesus ends His response with this sentence: “Anyone who is not with Me is against Me. And anyone who does not gather in with Me throws away.” On another occasion, also regarding the expulsion of a devil, the disciples prevented a man from using the name of Jesus to drive out the devil because he was not one of their group. Jesus answered, “You must not stop him: anyone who is not against you is for you!” (Lk 9: 50). These two declarations seem to be contradictory, but they are not. The sentence in today’s Gospel is directed to the enemies who have a prejudice against Jesus: “Anyone who is not with Me is against Me. And anyone who does not gather in with Me throws away.” The prejudice and the lack of acceptance make dialogue impossible and break the union. The other sentence is addressed to the disciples who thought they had the monopoly on Jesus. “Anyone who is not against you is for you!” Many people who are not Christian practice love, goodness, justice, many times in a much better way than Christians. We must not exclude them. They are brothers and workers in the construction of the Kingdom. We Christians are not Jesus’ owners. On the contrary, Jesus is our Lord!

Personal Questions

• To be “with Me” or “against Me” can become a complex question. At what point in belief or action would a person move from being “with” to “against” Jesus and his message?

• “Do not stop him, because anyone who is not against you is for you!” How does this apply to the various Christian interpretations of Jesus’ message today?

Concluding Prayer

Come, let us cry out with joy to Yahweh, acclaim the rock of our salvation.

Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving, acclaim Him with music. (Ps 95: 1-2)

Friday, March 28, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Father,

Your love never fails. Hear our call. Keep us from danger and provide for all our needs. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel Reading - Mark 12: 28b-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Reflection

The Gospel today presents a beautiful conversation between Jesus and a doctor of the Law. The doctor wants to know from Jesus which is the first of all the commandments. Today, many people want to know what is most important in religion. Some say: to be baptized. Others, to pray. Others say: to go to Mass or to participate in worship on Sunday. Others say: to love your neighbor! Others are worried about the appearance or the changes or tasks in the Church.

• Mark 12: 28: The question of the doctor of the Law. A doctor of the Law, who had seen the debate of Jesus with the Sadducees (Mk 12: 23-27), was pleased with Jesus’ response, and he perceives in Him a great intelligence and wants to take advantage of this occasion to ask Him a question: “Which is the first one of all the commandments?” At that time the Jews had an enormous number of norms which regulated, in practice, the observance of the Ten Commandments of the Law of God. Some said: “All these norms have the same value, because they all come from God. It does not belong to us to introduce distinctions in the things of God.” Others would say, “Some Laws are more important than others, that is why they oblige more!” The doctor wanted to know Jesus’ opinion.

• Mark 12: 29-31: Jesus’ response. Jesus responds by quoting a passage of the Bible to say that the first commandment is “to love God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength!” (Dt 6: 4-5). At the time of Jesus, the pious Jews made of this text of Deuteronomy a prayer which they recited three times a day: in the morning, at noon and in the evening. It was also one of the four verses written in the phylacteries (tefillin) that men (mostly) wore. Among them it was known as today we know the Our Father. And Jesus adds, quoting the Bible again, “the second one is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other more important commandment than this one.” (Lev 19: 18). A brief and profound response! It is the summary of all that Jesus has taught about God and about life (Mt 7: 12).

• Mark 12: 32-33: The answer of the doctor of the Law. The doctor agrees with Jesus and draws this conclusion: “To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself; this is far more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.” In other words, the commandment of love is more important than the commandments related to worship and sacrifice in the Temple. This affirmation was already used by the prophets of the Old Testament (Hos 6: 6; Ps 40: 6-8; Ps 51: 16-17). Today, we would say that the practice of love is more important than novenas, promises, Masses, prayers, and processions.

• Mark 12: 34: The summary of the Kingdom. Jesus confirms the conclusion reached by the doctor and says, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God!” In fact, the Kingdom of God consists in recognizing that love toward God is equal to the love of neighbor. Because if God is Father, we all are sisters and brothers and should show this in practice, living in community. "These two commandments depend on the Law and the prophets” (Mt 22: 4). The disciples must keep in mind, fix in their memory, in their intelligence, in the heart, in their hands and feet this important law of love: God is only attained through the total gift of self to our neighbor!

• The first and most important commandment. The most important and first commandment was and will always be: “to love God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk 12: 30). In the measure in which the people of God, throughout the centuries, have deepened the meaning and the importance of the love of God, it has become aware that God’s love is true and real only in the measure in which it is made concrete in the love to neighbor. And thus, the second commandment which asks for the love for neighbor, is similar to the first commandment of God’s love (Mt 22: 39; Mk 12: 31). “Anyone who says I love God, and hates his brother, is a liar” (1 Jn 4: 20). “On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Mt 22: 40).

Personal Questions

There are different kinds of love, some incomplete. There is love that is possessive: “I love my spouse; you can’t have him/her.” There is the love that wants to share the one/thing loved: “I love these candies! Have some!” There is love that begets obligation: “I have to take care of my cat.” And there is the love that brings total service, as one does to a new baby: no one questions why the baby is upset, or advises the baby to eat less, but only responds with complete service at the moment.

• Which form of love do I give to God, really and truly, and which form of love would my friends, neighbors, or community say I give?

• Of these types of love, which do I have for the people around me? Is it different for the people I see but don’t know personally? What should it be, and am I honest in my self-evaluation?

• I am on my way to the last Sunday Mass today. Someone approaches and needs my help. Do I miss Mass and help, or avoid the person so I can make it to Mass? How does your answer fit with these commandments from Jesus?

Concluding Prayer

Direct me in Your ways, Yahweh, and teach me Your paths.

Encourage me to walk in Your truth and teach me since You are the God who saves me. (Ps 25: 4-5)

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,

You yourself remind us through Your holy people that all our religious practices,

even the eucharistic sacrifice, are not worth anything

if we use them to bend You our way.

God, may we come to You in humility and repentance,

ready to encounter You in love and to turn toward You.

Accept us as Your sons and daughters, together with Jesus Christ,

your Son and our Lord forever.

Gospel Reading - Luke 18: 9-14

Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Reflection

In today’s Gospel, Jesus, in order to teach us to pray, tells the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Jesus has a different way of seeing things. He saw something positive in the tax collector, of whom everybody said, “He does not know how to pray!” Jesus, through prayer, lived so united to the Father that everything became an expression of prayer for Him.

The way of presenting the parable is very didactic. Luke gives a brief introduction which serves as the key for reading. Then Jesus tells the parable and at the end Jesus Himself applies the parable to life.

• Luke 18: 9: The introduction. The parable is introduced in this way: “He spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being upright and despised everyone else!” This statement is Luke’s. It refers to the time of Jesus, but it also refers to our own time. There are always people and groups of people who consider themselves upright and faithful and who despise others, considering them ignorant and unfaithful.

• Luke 18: 10-13: The Parable. Two men went up to the Temple to pray: one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. According to popular opinion at that time, the tax collectors were not esteemed at all, and they could not address themselves to God because they were impure. In the parable, the Pharisee thanks God because he is better than others. His prayer is nothing other than a praise of himself, an exaltation of his good qualities and contempt for others and for the tax collector. The tax collector does not even raise his eyes, but he beats his breast and says, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” He puts himself in his own place, where he stands before God.

• Luke 18: 14: The application. If Jesus had allowed people to express their opinion and say which of the two went home justified, all would have answered, “the Pharisee!” At that time, this was the common opinion. Jesus thinks in a different way. For Him, the one who returns home justified, in a good relationship with God, is not the Pharisee, but rather the tax collector. Jesus turns all things upside down. It is certain that the religious authorities of that time were not pleased with Jesus’ application of the parable.

Jesus prays. Luke informs us, especially, about Jesus’ prayer life. He presents Jesus in constant prayer. The following is a list of texts of Luke’s Gospel, in which Jesus appears in prayer: Lk 2: 46-50; 3: 21; 4: 1-12; 4: 16; 5: 16; 6: 12; 9: 16, 18, 28; 10: 21; 11: 1; 22: 32; 22: 7-14; 22: 40-46; 23: 34; 23: 46; 24: 30). In reading Luke’s Gospel, you can find other texts which speak about the prayer of Jesus. Jesus lived in contact with the Father. To do the will of the Father was the breathing of His life (Jn 5: 19). Jesus prayed very much and insisted that people and His disciples do the same, because from union with God springs truth, and the person is able to discover and find self, in all reality and humility. In Jesus prayer was intimately bound to concrete facts of life and to the decisions which He had to make. In order to be faithful to the Father’s plan, He sought to remain alone with Him in order to listen to Him. Jesus prayed the psalms. He did it like any other pious Jew and He knew them by heart. Jesus even succeeded in composing His own psalm. It is the Our Father. His whole life was constant prayer: “By himself the Son can do nothing; He can do only what He sees the Father doing!” (Jn 5: 19, 30). To Him can be applied what the psalm says: “All I can do is pray!” (Ps 109: 4).

Personal Questions

• Looking into the mirror of this parable, am I like the Pharisee or like the tax collector?

• Do we “pray always” or do we turn everything we do into prayer? Which is more sincere?

• There are people who say that they do not know how to pray, but they speak with God all the time. Do you know any people like this?

• The Eastern Church has the “Jesus Prayer,” which would be based on this passage, and is used to “pray always.” Do I pray with the same intent: “Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Concluding Prayer

Have mercy on me, O God, in Your faithful love, in Your great tenderness wipe away my offenses; wash me clean from my guilt, purify me from my sin. (Ps 51: 1-2)

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that You read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible, You helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of Your sentence and death. Thus, the Cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.

Create silence in us so that we may listen to Your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May Your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, may experience the force of Your resurrection and witness to others that You are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed the Father to us and sent us Your Spirit. Amen.

Gospel Reading - John 9: 1-41

A Key to the Reading:

The text of the Gospel of the fourth Sunday of Lent invites us to meditate on the healing of a man born blind. It is a short but lively text. It is a concrete example of the way the Fourth Gospel reveals the deep hidden meaning of the events in Jesus’ life. The story of the healing of the blind man helps us open our eyes to the picture of Jesus that we each carry within ourselves. We often think of a Jesus who looks like a glorious king, removed from the life of ordinary people! In the Gospels, Jesus is presented as a Servant of the poor, friend of sinners. The picture of the Messiah-King that the Pharisees had in mind, kept us from recognizing Jesus the Messiah-Servant. As we read the Gospel, let us try to pay attention to two things: (i) the expert and free way the blind man reacts to the provocations of the authorities, and (ii) the way the blind man himself opens his eyes concerning Jesus.

A Division of the Text as a Help to the Reading:

• John 9: 1-5: Blindness before the evil that exists in the world

• John 9: 6-7: The sign of the “One sent by God” who will provoke various reactions

• John 9: 8-13: The reaction of the neighbors

• John 9: 14-17: The reaction of the Pharisees

• John 9: 18-23: The reaction of the parents

• John 9: 24-34: The final judgement of the Pharisees

• John 9: 35-38: The final attitude of the man born blind

• John 9: 39-41: A closing reflection

Text:

1 As He went along, He saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked Him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should have been born blind?' 3 'Neither he nor his parents sinned,' Jesus answered, 'he was born blind so that the works of God might be revealed in him. 4 'As long as day lasts we must carry out the work of the one who sent me; the night will soon be here when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world.'

6 Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man, 7 and said to him, 'Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam' (the name means 'one who has been sent'). So he went off and washed and came back able to see.

8 His neighbors and the people who used to see him before (for he was a beggar) said, 'Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?' 9 Some said, 'Yes, it is the same one.' Others said, 'No, but he looks just like him.' The man himself said, 'Yes, I am the one.' 10 So they said to him, 'Then how is it that your eyes were opened?' 11 He answered, 'The man called Jesus made a paste, daubed my eyes with it and said to me, "Go off and wash at Siloam"; so I went, and when I washed I gained my sight.' 12 They asked, 'Where is he?' He answered, 'I don't know.' 13 They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees.

14 It had been a Sabbath day when Jesus made the paste and opened the man's eyes, 15 so when the Pharisees asked him how he had gained his sight, he said, 'He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see.' 16 Then some of the Pharisees said, 'That man cannot be from God: he does not keep the Sabbath.' Others said, 'How can a sinner produce signs like this?' And there was division among them. 17 So they spoke to the blind man again, 'What have you to say about Him yourself, now that He has opened your eyes?' The man answered, 'He is a prophet.'

18 However, the Jews would not believe that the man had been blind without first sending for the parents of the man who had gained his sight and 19 asking them, 'Is this man really the son of yours who you say was born blind? If so, how is it that he is now able to see?' 20 His parents answered, 'We know he is our son and we know he was born blind, 21 but how he can see, we don't know, nor who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is old enough: let him speak for himself.' 22 His parents spoke like this out of fear of the Jews, who had already agreed to ban from the synagogue anyone who should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. 23 This was why his parents said, 'He is old enough; ask him.'

24 So the Jews sent for the man again and said to him, 'Give glory to God! We are satisfied that this man is a sinner.' 25 The man answered, 'Whether he is a sinner I don't know; all I know is that I was blind and now I can see.' 26 They said to him, 'What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?' 27 He replied, 'I have told you once and you wouldn't listen. Why do you want to hear it all again? Do you want to become His disciples yourselves?' 28 At this they hurled abuse at him, 'It is you who are His disciple, we are disciples of Moses: 29 we know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we don't know where He comes from.' 30 The man replied, 'That is just what is so amazing! You don't know where He comes from and He has opened my eyes! 31 We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but God does listen to people who are devout and do his will. 32 Ever since the world began it is unheard of for anyone to open the eyes of someone born blind; 33 if this man were not from God, He wouldn't have been able to do anything.' 34 They retorted, 'Are you trying to teach us, and you a sinner through and through ever since you were born!' And they ejected him.

35 Jesus heard they had ejected him, and when He found him He said to him, 'Do you believe in the Son of man?' 36 'Sir,' the man replied, 'tell me who he is so that I may believe in Him.' 37 Jesus said, 'You have seen Him; He is speaking to you.' 38 The man said, 'Lord, I believe,' and worshipped Him.

39 Jesus said, ‘It is for judgement that I have come into this world, so that those without sight may see and those with sight may become blind.’ 40 Hearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to Him, 'So we are blind, are we?' 41 Jesus replied,‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty, but since you say, “We can see,” your guilt remains.’

A Moment of Prayerful Silence

so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life

Some Questions

to help us in our personal reflection.

• What part of this text touched me most? Why?

• A popular saying goes, “None so blind as those who will not see!” How does this apply to the conversation between the blind man and the Pharisees?

• By what titles is Jesus hailed in the text? Who pronounces these? What do they mean?

• Which title do I like best? Why? Or, what picture of Jesus do I carry in my mind and my heart? Where does this picture come from?

• How can I purify my eyes to see the true Jesus of the Gospels?

To Delve Deeper into the Text

The Context Within Which the Gospel of John was Written:

As we meditate on the story of the healing of the blind man, it is good to keep in mind the context of the Christian communities in Asia Minor towards the end of the first century for whom the Gospel of John was written and who identified with the blind man and his healing. Because of a legalistic view of the Law of God, they were blind from birth. But, as happened with the blind man, they too were able to see the presence of God in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and were converted. It was a painful process! In describing the steps and conflicts of the healing of the blind man, the author of the Fourth Gospel recalls the spiritual journey of the community, from the darkness of blindness to the full light of faith enlightened by Jesus.

A Commentary on the Text:

• John 9: 1-5: Blindness before the evil that exists in the world

When the disciples see the blind man, they ask: “Rabbì, who sinned, this man or his parents, for him to have been born blind?” In those days, a physical defect or sickness was thought to be a punishment from God. Associating physical defects with sin was the way the priests of the Old Testament kept their power over people’s consciences. Jesus helps his disciples to correct their ideas: “Neither he nor his parents sinned…he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him!” The works of God is the same as Sign of God. Thus, that which in those days was a sign of God’s absence, is now a sign of his brilliant presence in our midst. Jesus says: “As long as the day lasts I must carry out the work of the one who sent me; the night will soon be here when no one can work. As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world.” The Day of signs begins to manifest itself when Jesus, “on the third day” (Jn 2: 1), makes present the “first sign” in Cana (Jn 2:n11). But the day is about to end. The night is about to fall, because it is already “the seventh day,” the Sabbath, and the healing of the blind man is now the sixth sign (Jn 9: 14). The Night is the death of Jesus. The seventh sign will be the victory over death at the resurrection of Lazarus (Jn 11). In John’s Gospel there are only seven signs, miracles, that announce the great sign, namely the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.

• John 9: 6-7. The sign of the “One sent by God” who will provoke various reactions

Jesus spits on the ground, forms mud with his saliva, puts the mud on the eyes of the blind man and tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man goes and comes back healed. This is the sign! John comments saying that Siloam means sent. Jesus is the One sent by the Father who works the works of God, the signs of the Father. The sign of this ‘sending’ is that the blind man begins to see.

• John 9: 8-13: The first reaction: that of the neighbors

The blind man is well known. The neighbors have doubts: “Is this he?” And they ask: “How do your eyes come to be open?” The man who was blind testifies, “The Man called Jesus opened my eyes.” The basis of our faith in Jesus is to accept that He is a human being like us. The neighbors ask: “Where is he?” - “I don’t know!” They are not satisfied with the answer of the blind man and, to clarify matters, they bring the man before the Pharisees, the religious authorities.

• John 9: 14-17: The second reaction: that of the Pharisees

That day was a Sabbath and on the Sabbath it was forbidden to heal. When asked by the Pharisees, the man tells everything once more. Some Pharisees, blind in their observance of the law, say, “This man cannot be from God, He does not keep the Sabbath!” They could not admit that Jesus could be a sign of God because He healed the blind man on a Sabbath. But other Pharisees, faced by the sign, answer, “How could a sinner produce signs like this?” They were divided among themselves! So they asked the blind man, “What have you to say about him yourself, now that He has opened your eyes?” And he gives witness: “He is a Prophet!”

• John 9: 18-23: The third reaction: that of the parents

The Pharisees, now called the Jews, did not believe that he was blind. They thought that it was a matter of deception. So they called his parents and asked, “Is this man really your son who you say was born blind? If so, how is it that he is now able to see?” Very carefully the parents reply: “We know he is our son and we know he was born blind, but we don’t know how it is that he can see now, or who opened his eyes. He is old enough: let him speak for himself!” The blindness of the Pharisees before the evidence of the healing produces fear among the people. And anyone who professed faith in Jesus Messiah was excluded from the synagogue. The conversation with the parents of the blind man reveals the truth, but the religious authorities will not accept it. Their blindness is greater because of the witness given, now they will not accept the law that says that the witness of two persons is valid (Jn 8: 17).

• John 9: 24-34: The final judgement of the Pharisees concerning Jesus

They call the blind man again and say, “Give glory to God! For our part we know that this man is a sinner.” Here: “give glory to God” meant, “Ask pardon for the lie you just pronounced!” The blind man had said, “He is a prophet!” According to the Pharisees he should have said, “He is a sinner!” But the blind man is intelligent. He replies, “I don’t know if he is a sinner; I only know that I was blind and now I can see!” There are no arguments against this fact! Again the Pharisees ask, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” The blind man answers with a touch of irony: “I have told you once…. Do you want to become His disciples too?” Then they insulted him and said, “You can be His disciple, we know that God spoke to Moses, but for this man, we don’t know where He comes from.” Again with a touch of irony the blind man replies, “Now here is an astonishing thing! He has opened my eyes, and you don’t know where He comes from! …. If this man were not from God, He couldn’t do a thing.” Faced with the blindness of the Pharisees, the light of faith grows in the blind man. He does not accept the logic of the Pharisees and confesses that Jesus comes from the Father. This profession of faith costs him his expulsion from the synagogue. The same was happening in the communities of the end of the first century. Those who professed faith in Jesus had to break all family and community ties. This happens today: those who decide to be faithful to Jesus run the risk of being excluded.

• John 9: 35-38: The attitude of faith of the blind man towards Jesus

Jesus does not abandon those who are persecuted for His sake. When Jesus hears of the expulsion and meets the man again, He helps him to take a further step by inviting him to take on his faith and asks, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He replies,“Sir…tell me who He is that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said to Him, “You are looking at Him; He is speaking to you.” The blind man exclaims, “Lord, I believe!” And he worships Jesus. The faith attitude of the blind man before Jesus is one of absolute trust and total acceptance. He accepts everything from Jesus. It is this faith that sustained the Christian communities of Asia towards the end of the first century, and that sustains us today.

• John 9: 39-41: A final reflection

The blind man who could not see ends up seeing better than the Pharisees. The communities of Asia Minor who were once blind, discover the light. The Pharisees who thought that they saw well are more blind than the man born blind. Bound by an ancient observance, they lie when they say they can see. None more blind that those who will not see!

A Broader View:

• The Names and Titles given to Jesus

Throughout the story of the healing of the blind man, the Evangelist registers various titles, adjectives and names given to Jesus by a host of people, the disciples, the Evangelist himself, the blind man, the Pharisees and Jesus Himself. This way of describing the events in the life of Jesus was part of the catechesis of the time. It was a way of helping people to clarify their own ideas concerning Jesus and to identify themselves in His regard. Here are some of the names, adjectives and titles. The list shows the growth of the blind man in faith and how his vision becomes clear:

• Rabbì (master) (Jn 9: 1): the disciples

• Light of the world (Jn 9: 5): Jesus

• The One sent (Jn 9: 7): the Evangelist

• Man (Jn 9: 11): the healed man

• Jesus: (Jn 9: 11): the healed man

• Does not come from God (Jn 9: 16): some Pharisees

• Prophet (Jn 9: 17): the healed man

• Christ (Jn 9: 22): the people

• Sinner (Jn 9: 24): some Pharisees

• We do know where he comes from (Jn 9: 31): the healed man

• Religious (Jn 9: 31): the healed man

• Does the will of God (Jn 9: 31): the healed man

• Son of Man (Jn 9: 35): Jesus

• Lord (Jn 9: 36): the healed man

• Lord, I believe! (Jn 9: 30): the healed man

• The Name: “I AM”

To reveal the deep meaning of the healing of the blind man, the Fourth Gospel records the words of Jesus: “I am the light of the world” (Jn 9:5). In several places, in answer to questions people put to Jesus, the Gospel repeats this same statement “I AM”:

• I am the bread of life (Jn 6: 34-48)

• I am the living bread come down from heaven (Jn 6: 51)

• I am the light of the world (Jn 8: 12; 9: 5)

• I am the gate (Jn 10: 7, 9)

• I am the good shepherd (Jn 10: 11, 25)

• I am the resurrection and the life (Jn 11: 2

• I am the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14: 6)

• I am the vine (Jn 15: 1)

• I am king (Jn 18: 37)

• I am (Jn 8: 24, 27, 58)

• This self revelation of Jesus reaches its peak in His conversation with the Jews, when Jesus says, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He” (Jn 8: 27). The name I am is the same as Yahweh, the name God gave in Exodus, an expression of the liberating presence between Jesus and the Father (Ex 3: 15). The repeated affirmation I AM reveals the deep identity between Jesus and the Father. The face of God shines in Jesus of Nazareth: “To have seen Me is to have seen the Father!” (Jn 14: 9)

Prayer: Psalm 117 (116)

A resume of the Bible in one prayer

Alleluia! Praise Yahweh, all nations, extol Him, all peoples, for His faithful love is strong and His constancy never-ending.

Final Prayer

Lord Jesus, we thank You for the word that has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May Your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice what Your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, Your mother, not only listen to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Monday, March 31, 2025

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer

Lord our God, almighty Father, You want us not to turn to the past to regret it and to mourn over it but to hope in the future, in the new earth and the new heaven.

Give us a firm faith in Your Son Jesus Christ, that notwithstanding the shortcomings of our time we may have faith in the future, which You want us to build up with Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 4: 43-54

At that time Jesus left [Samaria for Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his native place. When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves had gone to the feast. Then he returned to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.

When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, who was near death. Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” The royal official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “You may go; your son will live.” The man believed what Jesus said to him and left. While the man was on his way back, his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live. He asked them when he began to recover.

They told him, “The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon.” The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe. Now this was the second sign Jesus did when he came to Galilee from Judea.

Reflection

Jesus had left Galilee and set forth toward Judah in order to arrive in Jerusalem on the occasion of the festival (Jn 4: 45) and, passing through Samaria, He was returning again to Galilee (Jn 4: 3-4). The observant Jews were forbidden to pass through Samaria, and they could not even speak with the Samaritans (Jn 4: 9). When the Assyrians conquered Israel, the Jews there ended up scattered throughout the area and the Assyrians adopted the the God of Israel, Yahweh, and their practices. The Jews within Judah denied that any non-Hebrew had a right to worship Yahweh, or to worship outside of Jerusalem. Jesus did not care about these norms which prevented friendship and dialogue. He remained several days in Samaria and many people were converted (Jn 4: 40). After that, He decided to return to Galilee.

• John 4: 43-46ª: The return to Galilee. Even though Jesus knew that the people of Galilee had certain reservations about Him, He wished to return to His own home town. John refers to how badly Jesus was received in Nazareth of Galilee. Jesus himself had declared that “No prophet is honored in his own home town” (Lk 4: 24). But now, given the evidence of what He had done in Jerusalem, the Galileans change their opinion and receive Him well. Jesus then returns to Cana where He had worked the first “sign” (Jn 2: 11).

• John 4: 46b-47: The petition of the court official. It is the case of a gentile. A short time before, in Samaria, Jesus had spoken with a Samaritan woman, a heretical person according to the Jews, to whom Jesus revealed His condition of Messiah (Jn 4: 26). And now, in Galilee, He receives a gentile, the official of the king, who was seeking help for his sick son. Jesus does not limit Himself to help those of His race only, nor those of His own religion. He is ecumenical and receives all.

• John 4: 48: Jesus’ answer to the court official. The official wanted Jesus to go with him to his house to cure his son. Jesus answered, “Unless you see signs and portents you will not believe!” A harsh and strange answer. Why does Jesus answer in this way? What was wrong with the the official’s request? What did Jesus want to accomplish through this response? Jesus wants to explain how our faith should be. The official would believe only if Jesus went with him to his house. He wanted to see Jesus curing. In general, this is the attitude that we all have. We are not aware of the deficiency of our faith. We often expect God to accomplish His work in the way we think it should be done.

• John 4: 49-50: The official repeats his petition and Jesus repeats the response. In spite of Jesus’ answer, the man does not keep silence and repeats the same petition: “Sir, come down before my child dies!” Jesus continues to stand His ground. He does not respond to the petition and does not go with the man to his house and repeats the same response, but formulated in a different way: “Go home! Your son will live!” Both in the first as well as in the second response, Jesus asks for faith, much faith. He asks that the official believe that his son has already been cured. And the true miracle takes place! Without seeing any sign, nor any portent, the man believes in Jesus’ word and returns home. It could not have been easy. This is the true miracle of faith: to believe without any other guarantee, except the Word of Jesus. The ideal is to believe in the word of Jesus, even without seeing (cf. Jn 20: 29).

• John 4: 51-53: The result of faith in the word of Jesus. When the man was on the way  home, his servants saw him and ran to meet him to tell him that his son had been cured, that he was alive. He asked them when the boy had begun to recover and discovered that it was exactly the time when Jesus had said, “Your son will live!” He was confirmed in his faith.

• John 4: 54: A summary presented by John, the Evangelist. John ends by saying, “This new sign, the second, Jesus performed.” John prefers to speak of sign and not of miracle. The word sign connotes something which I see with my eyes, but only faith can make me discover its profound sense. Faith is like an X-Ray: it enables one to see what the naked eye cannot see.

Personal Questions

• How do you live your faith? Do you have faith in God’s word or do you only believe in miracles and in perceptible experiences?

• Jesus accepts heretics and foreigners in a way that fosters conversion. How do I relate with people who are different from me? How do I foster their conversion through that relationship?

• These early cultures, like the Assyrians adopting the religion of the Hebrews over time, mixed their beliefs as they assimilated. That was probably one reason there was such resistance to outsiders among the Jews in Judah. This is true among cultures today. How should different cultures be welcomed within and into the Church, while preserving the Church’s teachings, doctrine, and culture?

Concluding Prayer

Make music for Yahweh, all you who are faithful to Him, praise His unforgettable holiness.

His anger lasts but a moment, His favor throughout life; In the evening come tears, but with dawn cries of joy. (Ps 30:4-5)

Note

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By Guido Reni - Web Gallery of Art:   Image  Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15397339

Table of Contents

LECTIO DIVINA MARCH 2025

Saturday, March 1, 2025

Sunday, March 2, 2025

Monday, March 3, 2025

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Friday, March 7, 2025

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Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

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Friday, March 14, 2025

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Friday, March 21, 2025

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Thursday, March 27, 2025

Friday, March 28, 2025

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Sunday, March 30, 2025

Monday, March 31, 2025