• Title: Lectio: Mark 12,13-17
  Tuesday, June 1, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Mark 12,18-27
  Wednesday, June 2, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Mark 12,28b-34
  Thursday, June 3, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Mark 12,35-37
  Friday, June 4, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Mark 12,38-44
  Saturday, June 5, 2010
• Title: Lectio: The Body and Blood of Christ
  Sunday, June 6, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 5,1-12
  Monday, June 7, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 5,13-16
  Tuesday, June 8, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 5,17-19
  Wednesday, June 9, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 5,20-26
  Thursday, June 10, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Sacred Heart of Jesus
  Friday, June 11, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 5,33-37
  Saturday, June 12, 2010
• Title: Lectio: 11th Sunday of ordinary time
  Sunday, June 13, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 5,38-42
  Monday, June 14, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 5,43-48
  Tuesday, June 15, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 6,1-6.16-18
  Wednesday, June 16, 2010

• Title: Lectio: Matthew 6,7-15
  Thursday, June 17, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 6,19-23
  Friday, June 18, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 6,24-34
  Saturday, June 19, 2010
• Title: Lectio: 12th Sunday of ordinary time
  Sunday, June 20, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 7,1-5
  Monday, June 21, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 7,6.12-14
  Tuesday, June 22, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 7,15-20
  Wednesday, June 23, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
  Thursday, June 24, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 8,1-4
  Friday, June 25, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 8,5-17
  Saturday, June 26, 2010
• Title: Lectio: 13th Sunday of ordinary time
  Sunday, June 27, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 8,18-22
  Monday, June 28, 2010
• Title: Lectio: St. Peter and St. Paul
  Tuesday, June 29, 2010
• Title: Lectio: Matthew 8,28-34
  Wednesday, June 30, 2010



• Lectio: Matthew 9,1-8
  Thursday, July 1, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 9,9-13
  Friday, July 2, 2010
• Lectio: John 20,24-29
  Saturday, July 3, 2010
• Lectio: 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time
  Sunday, July 4, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 9,18-26
  Monday, July 5, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 9,32-38
  Tuesday, July 6, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 10,1-7
  Wednesday, July 7, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 10,7-15
  Thursday, July 8, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 10,16-23
  Friday, July 9, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 10,24-33
  Saturday, July 10, 2010
• Lectio: 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time
  Sunday, July 11, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 10,34 - 11,1
  Monday, July 12, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 11,20-24
  Tuesday, July 13, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 11,25-27
  Wednesday, July 14, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 11, 28-30
  Thursday, July 15, 2010
• Lectio: The B.V. Mary of Mount Carmel - John 19,25-27
  Friday, July 16, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 12,14-21
  Saturday, July 17, 2010
• Lectio: 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time
  Sunday, July 18, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 12,38-42
  Monday, July 19, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 12,46-50
  Tuesday, July 20, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 13,1-9
  Wednesday, July 21, 2010
• Lectio: John 20,1-2.11-18
  Thursday, July 22, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 13,18-23
  Friday, July 23, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 20,20-28
  Saturday, July 24, 2010
• Lectio: 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time
  Sunday, July 25, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 13,31-35
  Monday, July 26, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 13,36-43
  Tuesday, July 27, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 13,44-46
  Wednesday, July 28, 2010
• Lectio: John 11,19-27 or Luke 10,38-42
  Thursday, July 29, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 13,54-58
  Friday, July 30, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 14,1-12
  Saturday, July 31, 2010

John is the lamp, Jesus is the light

Prayer

Father, you sent John to announce the coming of your Son, Jesus. He witnessed with great love for his Friend and Lord. In the fullness of time you sent us your Son as our Saviour. He witnessed to your love even unto death and he taught us to live in intimate friendship with you. Help us to welcome joyfully the presence of Christ, in order to live in communion with him and direct our lives towards you, in the light of his face. Let this light shine on us and reach out from us to our brothers and sisters whom you have put into our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen..

Lettura

 From the Gospel according to John  (5, 33-36)

 ^{You sent messengers to John, and he testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept such human testimony, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But I have a testimony greater than John's. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.33}

Meditation

 * “You sent … the Father sent me”. The verb “to send” opens and closes this short passage, bringing together and summarising all that the richness of the Word that the Lord wishes to give us. The Jews send priests and levites to Jerusalem to question John (Jn 1,19). they send them to gain an advantage, to rob the witness of John and so to have him killed. The Father sends his Son Jesus from his own womb (Jn 1:1-2) as the Gift of grace and salvation for all humankind.

Sending is an action that belongs to the Father; it is up to us, the children to receive the One who is sent. In receiving, day after day, the experience of freedom and of growth in the spirit begins. Because of this we can then be the ones who are sent, as missionaries, and witnesses to God in the world. This is the pathway that lies ahead of us, the pathway that Jesus with these Words helps us to discover. He is willing to walk with us as Teacher, brother and friend, as a companion on the journey.

 * “he witnessed”. Here is another key word, repeated a number of times in this passage, in different expressions: testified, accepting such witness, a testimony, testify on my behalf.  The witness is the one who has seen and heard and therefore can recall and repeat, affirm, declare with certainty. The biblical term, from the Old Testament onwards, is very powerful because the root of the word, witness or testimony refers to an action that lasts a long time, or something that in itself has the power to reach beyond, even to eternity. What John does, what we see happening in the life of Jesus and then in the life of his disciples, throughout the centuries, is precisely this movement of going out of oneself, as an unconditional gift, through words and works, and the whole of one’s life. They went beyond, they launched out beyond the boundaries, saying once and saying often their yes to God. There was nothing that could stand in the way of their movement towards God and towards their neighbour.

 * “He was a lamp”.  The image of the lamp shines out in the centre of this passage, along with words that speak of light: burning, shining, light. Jesus thus point out the direction we have to take, the point on which to set our gaze. There is one sure light, a fire burning, in our night too (Ps 139,12). The lamp, that is the prophets (2 Pt 1,19) who are the witnesses to the Christ, the lamp that is John the Baptist particularly, especially at this time of Advent, has the task of leading us to the true light, that enlightens every human being (Jn 1.9), the light that never fades (Lk 1,78-79), the light that is life itself (Jn 8,12; 9,5): Jesus.

Then there is a sign, a sure proof that the Lord offers us: In this light, that comes from the Father, joy comes to life. All we have to do is look inside, stand before him in openness and sincerity, and also before ourselves, before our life, to see if we can see the signs of this joy. Just for a moment? Or even for ever?  ……..

Questions

* The movements in the journey of faith that the Lord puts before us, especially in this time of Advent, are very clear: from John to Christ, from witnessing to the true and faithful Witness, from lamp to light that never fades, from Christ to the Father ….

Do I feel that I am ready to take steps, an not remain stationary? Have I the desire, inside, to journey in this way, to truly move towards Christ, and with him, towards the Father? Or might I prefer, one more time, to let things be, wait for better times, and go on, I too, like the Jews, sending others to ask the questions, to find any king of speedy or superficial answer?

* Are my eyes open, is my heart ready to welcome the testimony of Jesus, the witness of the works that he does, the works of the Father, that reveal Him as the Son, as the Brother?  Or, am I blind, unable to see any sign of grace, of mercy, of the presence of God?

* Do I have within me a willingness to be a witness for Christ, a witness for the Father? Or, am I frightened, with no great desire, or not ready, or prefer to close myself off, instead of opening out?

* Is there a light in my life? Or, do I feel I am completely in the dark? Are there clouds all around me, clouds in my heart?  The lamp of the Word is lit, since the Father sent his Son, the living and eternal Word, in whom the Father has said everything. Do I want to listen, to remember, to repeat all that I have heard?

* Even in these few lines the relationship of love that exists between Jesus and his Father is very clear, a relationship that unites them and makes them one. I know that this relationship is open, because the Father invites me too, just like every other human being who comes into this world to enter and remain, to enjoy true joy.  Do I accept the invitation? Or, do I stay outside, and, a bit like the rich young man, walk away with a heavy heart? 

Final Prayer

Resp. The Lord said to me, “You are my son”!

How can young people keep their way pure?

By guarding it according to your word.

 With my whole heart I seek you;

do not let me stray from your commandments.

I treasure your word in my heart,

so that I may not sin against you.

 Blessed are you, O Lord;

teach me your statutes.

With my lips I declare

all the ordinances of your mouth.

 I delight in the way of your decrees

as much as in all riches.

I will meditate on your precepts,

and fix my eyes on your ways.

I will delight in your statutes;

I will not forget your word.

(from Psalm 119)

• Lectio: Luke 4,38-44
  Wednesday, September 1, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 5,1-11
  Thursday, September 2, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 5,33-39
  Friday, September 3, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 6,1-5
  Saturday, September 4, 2010
• Lectio: 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
  Sunday, September 5, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 6,6-11
  Monday, September 6, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 6,12-19
  Tuesday, September 7, 2010
• Lectio: Birthday of Mary - Matthew 1,1-16.18-23
  Wednesday, September 8, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 6,27-38
  Thursday, September 9, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 6,39-42
  Friday, September 10, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 6,43-49
  Saturday, September 11, 2010
• Lectio: 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time
  Sunday, September 12, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 7,1-10
  Monday, September 13, 2010
• Lectio: The Exaltation of the Holy Cross - John 3,13-17
  Tuesday, September 14, 2010
• Lectio: B.V Maria Addolorata - John 19,25-27
  Wednesday, September 15, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 7,36-50
  Thursday, September 16, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 8,1-3
  Friday, September 17, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 8,4-15
  Saturday, September 18, 2010
• Lectio: 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time
  Sunday, September 19, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 8,16-18
  Monday, September 20, 2010
• Lectio: Matthew 9,9-13
  Tuesday, September 21, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 9,1-6
  Wednesday, September 22, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 9,7-9
  Thursday, September 23, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 9,18-22
  Friday, September 24, 2010

• Lectio: Luke 9,43b-45
  Saturday, September 25, 2010
• Lectio: 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time
  Sunday, September 26, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 9,46-50
  Monday, September 27, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 9,51-56
  Tuesday, September 28, 2010
• Lectio: St. Michael Gabrie e Raffaele - John 1,47-51
  Wednesday, September 29, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 10,1-12
  Thursday, September 30, 2010

• 1ª Domenica di Avvento (B)
  Domenica, 27 Novembre, 2011
• Lectio: Matteo 8,5-11
  Lunedì, 28 Novembre, 2011
• Lectior: Luca 10,21-24
  Martedì, 29 Novembre, 2011
• Festa di sant’Andrea apostolo
  Mercoledì, 30 Novembre, 2011
  
• Lectio: Matteo 9,27-31
  Venerdì, 2 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Matteo 9,35 - 10,1.5-8
  Sabato, 3 Dicembre, 2011
• 2ª Domenica d'Avvento (B)
  Domenica, 4 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Luca 5,17-26
  Lunedì, 5 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Matteo 18,12-14
  Martedì, 6 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Matteo 11,28-30
  Mercoledì, 7 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Immacolata Concezione della B.V. Maria
  Giovedì, 8 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Matteo 11,16-19
  Venerdì, 9 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Matteo 17,10-13
  Sabato, 10 Dicembre, 2011
• 3ª Domenica d’Avvento (B)
  Domenica, 11 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Matteo 21,23-27
  Lunedì, 12 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Matteo 21,28-32
  Martedì, 13 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Lc 7,19-23
  Mercoledì, 14 Dicembre, 2011
• Luca 7, 24-30
  Giovedì, 15 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Matteo 1,1-17
  Sabato, 17 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Matteo 1,18-24
  Domenica, 18 Dicembre, 2011
• 4ª Domenica d’Avvento (B)
  Domenica, 18 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Luca 1,5-25
  Lunedì, 19 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Luca 1,26-38
  Martedì, 20 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Luca 1,39-45
  Mercoledì, 21 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Luca 1,46-56
  Giovedì, 22 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Luca 1,57-66
  Venerdì, 23 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Luca 1, 67-79
  Sabato, 24 Dicembre, 2011
• 25 dicembre Natale del Signore (B)
  Domenica, 25 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Matteo 10,17-22
  Lunedì, 26 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Giovanni Apostolo ed Evangelista
  Martedì, 27 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Matteo 2,13-18
  Mercoledì, 28 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Luca 2,22-35
  Giovedì, 29 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Luca 2,36-40
  Venerdì, 30 Dicembre, 2011
• Lectio: Giovanni 1,1-18
  Sabato, 31 Dicembre, 2011

• Lectio: St. Theresa - Luke 10,13-16
  Friday, October 1, 2010
• Lectio: Guardian Angels - Matthew 18,1-5.10
  Saturday, October 2, 2010
• Lectio: 27th Sunday of ordinary time
  Sunday, October 3, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 10,25-37
  Monday, October 4, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 10,38-42
  Tuesday, October 5, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 1,26-38
  Wednesday, October 6, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 11,5-13
  Thursday, October 7, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 11,15-26
  Friday, October 8, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 11,27-28
  Saturday, October 9, 2010
• Lectio: 28th Sunday of ordinary time
  Sunday, October 10, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 11,29-32
  Monday, October 11, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 11,37-41
  Tuesday, October 12, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 11,42-46
  Wednesday, October 13, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 11,47-54
  Thursday, October 14, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 12,1-7
  Friday, October 15, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 12,8-12
  Saturday, October 16, 2010
• Lectio: 29th Sunday of ordinary time
  Sunday, October 17, 2010
• Lectio: St. Luke - Luke 10,1-9
  Monday, October 18, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 12,35-38
  Tuesday, October 19, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 12,39-48
  Wednesday, October 20, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 12,49-53
  Thursday, October 21, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 12,54-59
  Friday, October 22, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 13,1-9
  Saturday, October 23, 2010
• Lectio: 30th Sunday of ordinary time
  Sunday, October 24, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 13,10-17
  Monday, October 25, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 13,18-21
  Tuesday, October 26, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 13,22-30
  Wednesday, October 27, 2010
• Lectio: Saints Simon and Jude, apostles - Luke 6,12-19
  Thursday, October 28, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 14,1-6
  Friday, October 29, 2010
• Lectio: Luke 14,1.7-11
  Saturday, October 30, 2010
• Lectio: 31st Sunday of ordinary time
  Sunday, October 31, 2010

• Bl. Kuriakos Elias Chavara
  Monday, January 3, 2011
• St. Peter Thomas, Bishop (Feast)
  Saturday, January 8, 2011
• St. Andrew Corsini, Bishop (Feast)
  Sunday, January 9, 2011
• Angelo Paoli, Priest, (m)
  Thursday, January 20, 2011
• Bl. Archangela Girlani, Virgin (m)
  Saturday, January 29, 2011
• Bl. Candelaria of St. Joseph, Virgin (m)
  Tuesday, February 1, 2011
• Joseph, Spouse of the Virgin Mary, Principal protector of the Order (Feast)
  Saturday, March 19, 2011
• Bl. Frances of Jesus Mary Joseph (OCD), Priest (m)
  Sunday, March 20, 2011
• St. Nuno Alvares Pereira, Religious (M)
  Friday, April 1, 2011
• Bl. Baptist Spagnoli, Priest (M)
  Sunday, April 17, 2011
• St. Angelus, Priest and Martyr (M)
  Thursday, May 5, 2011
• Bl. Aloysius Rabatà, Priest (m)
  Sunday, May 8, 2011
• St. George Preca, Priest (M)
  Monday, May 9, 2011
• St. Simon Stock, Religious (M)
  Monday, May 16, 2011
• St. Joachina de Vedruna, Religious (m)
  Sunday, May 22, 2011
• St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, Virgin (Feast)
  Wednesday, May 25, 2011
• Bl. Hilary Januszewski, Priest and Martyr (m)
  Sunday, June 12, 2011
• St. Elisha, Prophet (M)
  Tuesday, June 14, 2011
• Bl. Maria Crocifissa Curcio, Virgin (m)
  Monday, July 4, 2011
• Bl. Jane Scopelli, Virgin (m)
  Saturday, July 9, 2011
• St. Teresa of Jesus 'de Los Andes' (OCD), Virgin (m)
  Wednesday, July 13, 2011
• Solemn Commemoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (Solemnity)
  Saturday, July 16, 2011
• Bl. Teresa of St. Augustine and Companions (OCD), Virgins and Martyrs (m)
  Sunday, July 17, 2011
• St. Elijah, Prophet (Solemnity)
  Wednesday, July 20, 2011
• Bl. John Soreth, Priest (M)
  Sunday, July 24, 2011
• St. Joachim and St. Anne, Parents of the Virgin Mary, Protectors of the Order (M)
  Tuesday, July 26, 2011
• Bl. Titus Brandsma, Priest and Martyr (m)
  Wednesday, July 27, 2011
• St. Albert of Trapani, Priest (Feast)
  Sunday, August 7, 2011
• St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (OCD), Virgin and Martyr (Feast)
  Tuesday, August 9, 2011
• Bl. Isidore Bakanja, Martyr (m)
  Friday, August 12, 2011
• B. Maria Sagrario of St. Aloysius Gonzaga (OCD), Virgin & Martyr (m)
  Tuesday, August 16, 2011
• Bl. Angelus Augustine Mazzinghi, Priest (m)
  Wednesday, August 17, 2011
• Bl. Mary of Jesus Crucified (OCD), Virgin (m)
  Thursday, August 25, 2011
• Bl. Jacques Retouret, Priest and Martyr (m)
  Friday, August 26, 2011
• St. Teresa Margaret Redi (OCD), Virgin (m)
  Thursday, September 1, 2011
• St. Albert of Jerusalem, Bishop and Lawgiver of Carmel (Feast)
  Saturday, September 17, 2011
• St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus (OCD), Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Feast)
  Saturday, October 1, 2011
• St. Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church (Feast)
  Saturday, October 15, 2011
• Bl. Frances d'Amboise, Religious (m)
  Saturday, November 5, 2011
• Bl. Angel Prat i Hostench and 16 companions, Religious (m)
  Sunday, November 6, 2011
• Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity (OCD), Virgin (m)
  Tuesday, November 8, 2011
• Bl. Maria Teresa Scrilli, Virgin (m)
  Sunday, November 13, 2011
• All Carmelite Saints (Feast)
  Monday, November 14, 2011
• Commemoration of all Carmelite Souls (M)
  Tuesday, November 15, 2011
• St. Raphael of St. Joseph (OCD), Priest (m)
  Saturday, November 19, 2011
• Bl. Denis of the Nativity (OCD), Priest and Martyr Bl. Redemptus of the Cross (OCD), Religious and Martyr (m)
  Tuesday, November 29, 2011
• Bl. Bartholomew Fanti, Priest (m)
  Monday, December 5, 2011
• St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Feast)
  Wednesday, December 14, 2011

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The sending of the 72 disciples
Rebuilding Community Life 
Luke 10:1-12.17-20 

1. 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 from 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.

2. Reading

a) A key to the reading:

Jesus’ preaching draws many people (Mk 3:7-8). A small community begins to form around him. At first, two persons (Mk 1:16-18); then another two (Mk 1:19-20); then twelve (Mk 3:13-19); and now in our text, more than seventy-two persons (Lk 10:1). The community continues to grow. One thing Jesus insists on is community life. He set the example. He never wished to work alone. The first thing he did at the beginning of his preaching in Galilee was to call people to live with him and share in his mission (Mk 1:16-20; 3,14). The ambience of fraternity that grows around Jesus is a foretaste of the Kingdom, a proof of the new experience of God with the Father. Thus, if God is Father and Mother, then we are all one family of brothers and sisters. Thus is the community born, the new family (cf. Mk 3:34-35).

This Sunday’s Gospel tells us of practical things to direct the seventy-two disciples in their proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom and in rebuilding community life. Proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom and rebuilding community life are two sides of the same coin. One does not exist and cannot make sense without the other. While reading the text, try to look for this connection between community life and the proclamation of the Kingdom of God.

b) A division of the text to help with the reading:

Luke 10:1: The Mission 
Luke 10:2-3: Co-responsibility 
Luke 10:4-6: Hospitality
Luke 10:7: Sharing
Luke 10:8: Communion around the table
Luke 10:9^a: Welcoming those excluded 
Luke 10:9^b: The coming of the Kingdom 
Luke 10:10-12: Wiping the dust from their feet 
Luke 10:17-20: The names written in heaven

c) Text:

 1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself would be visiting. 2 And he said to them, 'The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to do his harvesting. 3 Start off now, but look, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Take no purse with you, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, let your first words be, "Peace to this house!" 6 And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. 8 Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is put before you. 9 Cure those in it who are sick, and say, "The kingdom of God is very near to you." 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not make you welcome, go out into its streets and say, 11 "We wipe off the very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave it with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very near." 12 I tell you, on the great Day it will be more bearable for Sodom than for that town.
17 The seventy-two came back rejoicing. 'Lord,' they said, 'even the devils submit to us when we use your name.' 18 He said to them, 'I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Look, I have given you power to tread down serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. 20 Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice instead that your names are written in heaven.'

3. A moment of prayerful silence

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

4. Some questions

to help us in our personal reflection.

a) What pleased or struck you most in this text? Why? 
b) Name each of the things that Jesus tells the disciples to do and the things to avoid.
c) What does Jesus wish to clarify through each of these suggestions so different from those common in everyday life? 
d) How can we put into practice what the Lord asks: “take no purse with you”, “do not move from house to house”, “salute no one on the road”, “wipe off the very dust from your feet”?
e) Why are these suggestions of Jesus a sign of the coming of the Kingdom of God?
f) Jesus tells us to be attentive to the most important thing when he says: “your names are written in heaven!” What does this mean for us?

5. For those who wish to go deeper into the theme

a) The literary and historical context:

A little before our text, in Luke 9:51, is the beginning of the second phase of Jesus’ apostolic activities, that is, a long journey to Jerusalem (Lk 9:51 to 19:29). The first phase took place in Galilee and began with the presentation of Jesus’ programme in the synagogue of Nazareth (Lk 4:14-21). In the second phase, he goes to Samaria, sends messengers ahead of him (Lk 9:52) and draws new disciples (Lk 9:57-62). The second phase begins with the appointment of the other 72 disciples and with the presentation of the programme that will guide them in their missionary activities (Lk 10:1-16). Thus Luke suggests that these new disciples are not Jews from Galilee but Samaritans, and that the place where Jesus proclaims the Good News is no longer Galilee but Samaria, the territory of the excluded. The aim of the mission given to the disciples is the rebuilding of community life. In Jesus days, many movements tried new ways of life and of sharing life: the Pharisees, the Essenes, the Zealots, John the Baptist and others. Many formed communities of disciples (Jn 1:35; Lk 11:1; Acts 19:3) and had their missionaries (Mt 23:15). But there was one great difference. The communities of Pharisees, for instance, lived apart from people. The community around Jesus lives among the people. Jesus’ proposal to the 72 disciples is to recover the old community values that were being lost, like hospitality, welcoming, sharing, communion around the table, accepting the excluded. Jesus tries to renew and reorganise communities in such a way that they may become an expression of the Covenant, an expression of the Kingdom of God.

b) A commentary on the text:

Luke 10:1: The Mission
Jesus sends the disciples to the places he would be visiting. The disciple is Jesus’ spokesperson. He is not the master of the Good News. Jesus sends them in pairs. This allows for mutual help and thus the mission is not that of an individual but of the community. Two persons represent the community better.

Luke 10:2-3: Co-responsibility 
Their first task is to ask God to send labourers. All of Jesus’ disciples must feel responsible for the mission. Thus they have to pray to the Father for the continuance of the mission. Jesus sends his disciples like lambs among wolves. The mission is a difficult and dangerous task. The system within which they lived and within which we still live continues to resist the reorganisation of people living in community. Anyone who, like Jesus, proclaims love in a society organised on individual and collective selfishness, will be a lamb among wolves and will be crucified.

Luke 10:4-6: Hospitality 
Jesus’ disciples may not take anything with them, no purse, no sandals. All they can take with them is peace. This means that they had to rely on the hospitality of the people. Thus the disciple who goes carrying nothing but peace, shows he trusts people. He thinks that he will be accepted and that thus people will feel respected and confirmed. In this way the disciples were criticising the laws concerning exclusion and brought out the old values of community sharing of the people of God. Salute no one on the road means that they must not waste time with matters not pertaining to the mission. This may be a reference to the episode of the death the Sunamite’s son, where Elisha says to his employee, “Go! If anyone salutes you, do not answer” (2Kings 4:29), because this was a matter of life and death. Proclaiming God’s Good News is a matter of life and death!

Luke 10:7: Sharing 
The disciples must not move from house to house, but must stay in the same house. They must live together with and share in the life and work of the local people, and live on what they receive in exchange, the labourer deserves his wages. This means that they must trust in sharing. Through this new practice, they recovered one of the old traditions of the people of God, criticising a culture of accumulation that was characteristic of the Roman Empire and so proclaimed a new model for people to live together.

Luke 10:8: Communion around the table
The disciples must take what food and drink they offer. When the Pharisees went on a mission, they went prepared. They took with them purse and money so that they could provide for their own food. They maintained that they could not trust the food of the people because it was not always ritually “pure”. Thus the observance of the Law of legal purity, instead of helping to overcome divisions, weakened the life of communitarian values. Jesus’ disciples must not be separate from the people but rather accept communion around the table. When coming into contact with people they were not to be afraid of losing legal purity. The community value of fraternal living together is greater than the observance of ritual norms. By acting thus, they criticised the current laws on purity, and proclaimed a new way to purity, to intimacy with God.

Luke 10:9^a: Welcoming those excluded 
The disciples must look after the sick, cure lepers and drive out evil spirits (cf Mt 10:8). This means that they must welcome into the community those who had been excluded from it. The practice of solidarity is a criticism of a society that excluded a person from the rest of the community. And thus is recovered the ancient prophetic tradition of goêl. From earliest times, the strength of the clan or the community was revealed in its defence of the value of a person, a family and the possession of land, and was concretely practised every “seven times seven years” in the celebration of the jubilee year (Lv 25,8-55; Dt 15,1-18).

Luke 10:9^b: The coming of the Kingdom 
Hospitality, sharing, communion around the table, welcoming the excluded (goêl) were four pillars for sustaining community life. But because of the difficult situation of poverty, unemployment, persecution and oppression from the Romans, these pillars were broken. Jesus wants to rebuild them and affirms that, if they go back to these four values, the disciples can proclaim to the four winds: The Kingdom of God is very near to you! Proclaiming the Kingdom does not mean teaching truth and doctrine, but bringing people to a new way of living and sharing, a new way of acting and thinking, based on the Good News that Jesus proclaims: God is Father and therefore we are all together brothers and sisters.

Luke 10:10-12: Wiping the dust from their feet 
How can we understand such a hard threat? Jesus came to bring an entirely new thing. He came to recover the communitarian values of the past: hospitality, sharing, communion around the table and welcoming the excluded. This explains the severity of the words used against those who refuse to accept the message. They are not refusing something new, but their own past, their own culture and wisdom! Jesus’ plan for the 72 disciples was aimed at digging up the memory, recovering the communitarian values of the oldest tradition, to rebuild the community and renew the Covenant, to renew life and thus to make God the new great Good News in the life of people.

Luke 10:17-20: The names written in heaven
The disciples come back from the mission and get together with Jesus to evaluate what they had done. They begin by telling their stories. With great joy, they inform him that, in the name of Jesus, they were able to drive out evil spirits! Jesus helps them in their discernment. If they were able to drive out evil spirits, it was because Jesus had given them that power. While they stay with Jesus, no evil can come to them. And Jesus says that the most important thing was not driving out evil spirits, but that their names are written in heaven. To have one’s name written in heaven means to be certain of being known and loved by the Father. Some time before this, James and John had asked to bring down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritans (Lk 9:54). Now, through the proclamation of the Good News, Satan falls from heaven (Lk 10:18) and the names of the Samaritan disciples are entered in heaven! In those days, many thought that whatever was Samaritan was of the devil, of Satan (Jn 8:48). Jesus changes everything!

c) Further information:

The small communities being formed in Galilee and in Samaria are above all “a foretaste of the Kingdom”. The community around Jesus is like the face of God transformed into New News for the people, above all for the poor. Is our community like this?

Here are some characteristics of the community that grew around Jesus. These are characteristics of the face of God revealed in them. They may act as a mirror for the revision of our community:
i) “You have only one master, and you are all brothers" (Mt 23:8). The foundation of the community is not knowledge or power, but equality among the brothers and sisters. It is fraternity. 
ii) Jesus insists on equality between men and women (Mt 19:7-12) and gives orders to men and women (Mt 28:10; Mk 16:9-10; Jn 20:17). They all “follow” Jesus from Galilee (Mk 15:41; Lk 8:2-3). 
iii) They had a common house shared with the poor (Jn 13:29). Thissharing must reach the soul and heart of all (Acts 1:14; 4:32). It must reach the point that there are no secrets among them (Jn 15:15).
iv) The power of service. “Any one who wants to be first among you, must be slave to all!” (Mk 10:44). Jesus sets the example (Jn 13:15). "The Son of man came not be served, but to serve" (Mt 20:28). "Here am I among as one who serves" (Lk 22:27). "We are useless servants!" (Lk 17:10)
v) Because of many conflicts and divisions, Jesus insists that the community be a place of forgiveness and reconciliation, not of mutual condemnation (Mt 18:21-22; Lk 17:3-4). The power to forgive was given to Peter (Mt 16:19), the apostles (Jn 20:23) and the communities (Mt 18:18). God’s pardon is passed on to the community. 
vi) They prayed together in the Temple (Jn 2:13; 7:14; 10:22-23). Sometimes Jesus forms smaller groups (Lk 9:28; Mt 26:36-37). They pray before meals (Mk 6:41; Lk 24:30) and frequent the synagogues (Lk 4:16). 
vii) Joy that no one can take away (Jn 16:20-22) "Blessed are you!" Your name is written in heaven (Lk 10:20), their eyes will see what has been promised (Lk 10:23-24), the Kingdom is yours! (Lk 6:20).

The community around Jesus is the model for the early Christians after the resurrection (Acts 2:42-47)! The community is like the face of God transformed into Good News for the people.

6. Praying the Psalm 146 (145) 

The face of God, confirmed by Jesus 

Alleluia! Praise Yahweh, my soul!
I will praise Yahweh all my life, 
I will make music to my God as long as I live.

Do not put your trust in princes, 
in any child of Adam, 
who has no power to save.
When his spirit goes forth he returns to the earth, 
on that very day all his plans come to nothing.

How blessed is he who has Jacob's God to help him, 
his hope is in Yahweh his God,
who made heaven and earth, 
the sea and all that is in them. 
He keeps faith for ever,
gives justice to the oppressed, 
gives food to the hungry; 
Yahweh sets prisoners free.

Yahweh gives sight to the blind, 
lifts up those who are bowed down.
Yahweh protects the stranger, 
he sustains the orphan and the widow. 
Yahweh loves the upright,
but he frustrates the wicked.

Yahweh reigns for ever, your God, Zion, 
from age to age.

7. Closing prayer

Lord Jesus, we thank you for your Word that has clarified for us the will of the Father. Grant that your Spirit may enlighten our actions and give us the strength to put into practice that which your Word has revealed to us. Grant that we, like Mary, your Mother, may not only listen to your Word but also put it into practice. Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.

The parable of the Good Samaritan
Who is my neighbour?
Luke 10:25-37

1. LECTIO

a) Opening prayer:

Prayers of Blessed Giorgio Preca in Il Sacrario dello spirito di Cristo

Lord God, you are present and I am in you: 
          Give me wisdom to know your spirit.
Lord God, you are present and I am in you: 
          Grant me the gift of the spirit of the Master, my Christ Jesus.
Lord God, you are present and I am in you: 
          Guide my every way with your light.
Lord God, you are present and I am in you:
          Teach me to do your will at all times.
Lord God, you are present and I am in you: 
          Do not let me stray from your Spirit, the Spirit of love.
Lord God, you are present and I am in you: 
          Do not abandon me when my strength fails.

b) Gospel reading:

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Picture) 26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read?" 27 And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself." 28 And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live."
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbour?" 30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, 34 and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?" 37 He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

c) Prayerful silent time:

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

2. MEDITATIO

a) A key to the reading:

This is chapter 10 of Luke’s Gospel. It is the central part of Luke’s Gospel and it follows Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem: «Now as the time drew near for him to be taken up to heaven, he resolutely took the road for Jerusalem» (Lk 9: 51). We know that for Luke, Jerusalem is the city where salvation will take place, and Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem forms a central theme. Luke’s story begins in the holy city (Lk 1: 5) and ends in the same city (Lk 24: 52). In this middle section, Luke will repeatedly insist on the fact that Jesus is going towards Jerusalem (for instance in Lk 13: 22; 17: 11). In this text, which tells the parable of the good Samaritan in the context of a discussion with a doctor of the law concerning the greatest commandment, we again find the theme of a journey, this time from Jerusalem to Jericho (Lk 10: 30). The parable is part of this middle section of the Gospel that begins with Jesus, a pilgrim together with his disciples on their way to Jerusalem. He sends them ahead to prepare for him to stop at a Samaritan village and there they only find hostility precisely because they were on their way to Jerusalem (Lk 9: 51-53). The Samaritans avoided pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem and were hostile to them. “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit” (Lk 10: 1). Seventy-two is the traditional number of pagan nations.

The Fathers of the Church (Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome and others), keeping in mind all the symbolism associated with Jerusalem, the holy city of salvation, interpret this parable in a particular way. In the man who goes from Jerusalem to Jericho they see Adam who represents the whole human race expelled from Eden, the celestial paradise, because of sin. The Fathers of the Church see the thieves as the tempter who takes us away from God’s friendship with his wiles and who holds us slaves in our humanity wounded by sin. In the priest and the Levite they see the insufficiency of the old law for our salvation that will be accomplished by our Good Samaritan, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, who, leaving the celestial Jerusalem, comes to the aid of our sinful condition and heals us with the oil of grace and the wine of the Spirit. In the inn, the Fathers see and image of the Church and in the inn-keeper they see the pastors into whose hands Jesus entrusts the care of his people, The departure of the Samaritan from the inn is seen by the Fathers as the resurrection and ascension of Jesus to sit at the right hand of the Father, but who promises to come back to reward each person according to his or her merit. Jesus then leaves the two denarii to the Church for our salvation, the two denarii that are the Sacred Scriptures and the Sacraments that help us on our way to holiness.

This allegorical and mystical interpretation of the text helps us to accept well the message of this parable. The text of the parable begins with a dialogue between a doctor of the law who stands to put the Lord to the test by asking: «Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?» (Lk 10: 25). Jesus replies with another question: «What is written in the law? What do you read there?» (Lk 10: 26). We must see this dialogue as a confrontation between two masters, a thing quite common in those days as a system of clarifying and deepening points of law. The polemical tone prevailing here is different from that in Mark where the question is asked by a Scribe who «had listened to them debating (Jesus and the Sadducees), and had observed how well Jesus had answered them» (Mk 12: 28) then puts the question to Jesus. This Scribe is well disposed to listen to Jesus, so much so that Jesus ends the dialogue with: «You are not far from the kingdom of God» (Mk 12: 34). Matthew, however, places this question in the context of a debate between Jesus and the Sadducees with the Pharisees present who when they “heard that he had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question…” (Mt 22:34-35). Jesus gives an immediate reply quoting the commandment of love as found in Deuteronomy and Leviticus.

Only in Luke’s text is the question not about which is the greatest commandment but about how to inherit eternal life, a question dealt with again in the Synoptic Gospels on the lips of the rich young man (Mt 19: 16; Mk 10: 17; Lk 18: 18). As in Mark, so also here, Jesus praises the doctor of the law: «You have answered right… do this and life is yours» (Lk 1:, 28). But the doctor of the law was not yet satisfied with Jesus’ answer and wanting «to justify himself» (Lk 10: 28) for having asked the question asks again “and who is my neighbour”! This second question introduces and connects the following parable with the dialogue between Jesus and the doctor of the law. We also notice an inclusion between verse 26 that ends the debate and leads us to the tale of the parable in verse 37, which ends definitively the dialogue and the parable. In this verse, Jesus repeats to the doctor of the law that he had defined the neighbour as one who was compassionate: «Go and do the same yourself». This phrase of Jesus reminds us of the words at the last supper as recorded in John, when, after the washing of the feet, Jesus invites his disciples to follow his example (Jn 13: 12-15). At the last supper, Jesus bequeaths to his disciples the commandment of love understood as willingness “to give one’s life” in love for each other as the Lord has loved us (Jn 15: 12-14).

This commandment goes beyond the observance of the law. The priest and the Levite have kept the law by not approaching the poor wounded man who is left half dead, so as not to defile themselves (Lev 21: 1). Jesus goes beyond the law and desires his disciples to do as he does. «By this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are my disciples» (Jn 13: 35). For the disciple of Jesus mere philanthropy is not enough. The Christian is called to something more, which he or she accomplishes in imitation of the Master, as the Apostle Paul said: «We are those who have the mind of Christ» (1 Cor 2: 16) «Because the love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that one man has died for all» (2 Cor 5, 14).

b) Some questions to direct our meditation and practice:

* What touched you most in the parable?
* With whom in the story do you identify?
* Have you ever thought of Jesus as the Good Samaritan?
* Do you feel the need for salvation in your life?
* Can you say with the apostle Paul that you have the mind of Christ?
* What urges you to love your neighbour? Is it the need to love and be loved, or is it compassion and the love of Christ?
* Who is your neighbour?

3. ORATIO

Canticle - 1Pt 2, 21-24

21 Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

4. CONTEMPLATIO

Contemplation is knowing how to adhere with one’s mind and heart to the Lord who by his Word transforms us into new beings who always do his will. “Knowing these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (Jn 13: 17)

Mary and Martha, friends of Jesus
Which is the better part chosen by Mary?
Luke 10, 34 – 42

1. 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 from 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.

2. Reading

I would like to focus on three great anniversaries or jubilees that fall this year.

On July 16, 40 years ago, 12,000 pilgrims from all over Europe led by Cardinal Heenan and Archbishop Cowderoy, streamed to Aylesford for the rededication of the Shrine and the consecration of the altars. Perhaps we could say the renaissance of Aylesford. This anniversary year sees a new Prior and team at Aylesford - no doubt discerning the way ahead, renewing the vision for this treasure house of spirituality and reaffirming its place in the modern world.

Where better to go in that discernment than Gaudium et Spes, the Second Vatican Council's Pastoral (and Doctrinal!) Constitution on the Church in the Modern World - promulgated also 40 years ago on December 7th. A second ruby jubilee! Arguably Gaudium et Spes, along with Lumen Gentium, were the most important bequest to us from Vatican II.

Gaudium et Spes offers a vision of Church which is not just institution and hierarchy. It speaks of the Church as the People of God, the community of the baptised. The Church is all of us. Furthermore we could say that Gaudium et Spes provides for the justice and peace movement its Magna Carta from its very opening, and oft-quoted words:

"The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these too are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ."

It spoke then of the terrible divide in our world between rich and poor. Never so much wealth and still colossal scandalous numbers going hungry. It highlighted the urgency of greater solidarity; it urged dialogue and engagement with the world to transform the world, promoting human dignity, freedom, and human rights. Its message is that peace is the fruit of justice. We are invited to know not so much an all-powerful God as an all-loving God.

So we the Church are a pilgrim people, united in sacrament and solidarity, striving to follow the Lord in a broken and divided world. Sacrament AND solidarity. Prayer AND action. Love of God AND love of neighbour. We can't have God without neighbour or sacrament without solidarity. Here in Gaudium et Spes are planted the seeds of the preferential option for the poor - the poor at the centre and heart of the mission of the Church - subsequently crystallised in the social teaching of John Paul II.

The pilgrim people needs food for the journey which comes in the Eucharist - but we still grow weary and occasionally our commitment flags. To energise us we look to our heroes, our saints, to those who have carried the torch of faith and justice before us. This brings us to our third anniversary.

2005 is the 25th anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador, a Gaudium et Spes bishop to his core and patron-saint-in-waiting of our justice and peace movement. At this moment we are waiting confidently and expectantly for Benedict XVI to announce that Romero's heroic sanctity and martyrdom will be recognised in his beatification.

For me personally the greatest grace and privilege of my life is to have known and worked with Archbishop Romero and to have enjoyed his friendship. Let me tell you his story.

It was a Tuesday morning 25 years ago. I was woken up by the telephone ringing. It was a call from El Salvador with the news that Oscar Romero had been assassinated. He had been shot dead with a single marksman's bullet just as he began to offer the bread and wine at a Mass he was celebrating in the little chapel at the cancer hospital where he lived with the Carmelite sisters. Like millions of others I was shattered; I felt sick. The news ricocheted round the world. It was not simply a killing. It was a great crime against humanity. The magnicide ended three dramatic years of Romero's ministry as Archbishop of San Salvador.

It all happened on 24 March 1980 - twelve hours before Robert Runcie was installed in the Chair of St Augustine not far from here in Canterbury Cathedral. In fact on the spot where another turbulent priest, St Thomas a Beckett, was killed in 1170 on the orders of King Henry II for his defence of the rights and liberty of the Church.

And it all happened in El Salvador, the tiny Catholic country in Central America, named after Christ the Saviour. The size of Wales, with a population of about 4 million, El Salvador was ruled at the time by a military-led junta. The order to kill Romero was given by Major Roberto D'Aubuisson with the knowledge and assent of the military high command. It was planned and executed by their death squads with a hired professional marksman. It happened with the complicity of the National Police (who were nowhere to be seen for two hours after the killing). And, it has to be said, it happened to the joy of the Catholic wealthy class who opened champagne and let off fireworks as news of the assassination spread on that evening of 24 March.

It happened when El Salvador was poised on the brink of civil war - a country with grotesque economic exploitation, social deprivation and malnutrition in the countryside, on the coffee estates and cotton and sugar plantations. The whole unjust system - the institutionalised injustice - was kept in place through electoral fraud and wholesale repression. Killings, torture, disappearances, political imprisonment and forced exile were the routines of the military regime. Six priests and dozens of catechists were killed before Romero. Kidnappings and high profile murders were the response of the guerrilla left.

Archbishop Romero, just simply 'Monsenor' as he was affectionately known by all his people, preached a gospel message of social justice, non-violent change, peace and reconciliation. In word and deed he acted out Gaudium et Spes and all the rich heritage of Catholic Social Teaching. He made incarnate the preferential option for the poor - the poor really did come first on his agenda. The joys and sorrows of his suffering people were indeed the joys and sorrows of his Church. The social teaching was not just words, words, words. He lived them out day by day. And in the end he gave his life for his people, a 20th century martyr for the poor.

Three incredible years of ministry at the head of the archdiocese. Put alongside the three years of the public ministry of Christ the inevitable comparisons are there to be made. The preaching, the teaching. The compassion. The audacious challenges to the authorities. The doubts. The temptations. The agonies. The insults. The plotting. The hostility of the elders of the Church (in Romero's case the nuncio and his fellow bishops). The death threats; and the public execution. Romero was an authentic follower of Jesus Christ. According to Gustavo Gutierrez, if Jesus Christ, the word made flesh, is the homily of God, then Oscar Romero was the homily of Jesus Christ. He was an ordinary man who did extraordinary things.

Born on the Feast of the Assumption 1917, he went to seminary at 13. he studied in Rome and was ordained in 1942. He was trained in the most traditional fashion, a product of the Gregorian University and the Jesuits. He became a great admirer of Pius XI and Pius XII. He loved the rosary from childhood to his death - but he had many devotions. He developed a deep prayer life in which (and through which) he could retreat to be with God and pray through his difficult challenges. He prized and recommended to others the intimate divine space of our conscience where we encounter ourselves and then go out and encounter God. It was a rich spirituality with clear mendicant and indeed Carmelite traits.

In a homily on the Feast of Carmel in 1977 he said:

The scapular is a sign of salvation…. If the Blessed Virgin were to give the scapular to Simon Stock today she would tell him "This is the sign of protection, a sign of God's teaching, a sign of humanity's integral vocation, for the salvation of the whole person, now in this life. All who wear the scapular must be persons who live now in salvation on this earth and they must feel content to develop their human powers for the good of others". ….When the Church demands a more just society, wealth better shared, and more respect for human rights, the Church is not meddling in politics. The church is telling people what the scapular says: only those will be saved who can use the things of earth with the heart of God.

For 25 years from his ordination Romero was what we would describe as a zealous pastor, an indefatigable and popular preacher and catechist, parish priest, editor of the diocesan newspaper, vicar general and administrator of the cathedral. He promoted the local SVP, the cursillo movement, and alcoholics anonymous. He lived a life of simplicity and, according to his housekeepers, of austerity and fasting. He was guardian of the national shrine of Our Lady Queen of Peace in San Miguel. Indeed he oversaw its refurbishment and rededication - a decade before the Aylesford ceremonies!

Cut adrift from his diocese as an ecclesiastical bureaucrat in 1967, he had a difficult 'blue' period, seven years of pastoral famine. By all accounts he became sullen, awkward, pedantic and aggressively suspicious of new pastoral practice. Ordained an auxiliary bishop in 1970, he became close to the military government and flirted with Opus Dei.

In 1977, against all the odds and all the predictions, to the dismay of the diocesan clergy and many religious, to the horror of the grassroots Christian communities, Romero was appointed archbishop of San Salvador.

But two weeks after his installation the scales were dramatically shaken from his eyes by the murder, at the hands of a death squad, of his friend the Jesuit priest Rutilio Grande who worked to organise exploited rural workers into unions. The government lied to him. He paused and he prayed. It was his Gethsemane. He made an option - to put himself on the side of this poor peasantry which, he wrote at the time to a friend, "seems to have put me on the road to Calvary". To demonstrate the Church's abhorrence at the crime and to express the sorrow and mourning Romero cancelled all Masses throughout the diocese the following Sunday except for a single Mass in front of the metropolitan cathedral. This infuriated the government, the wealthy classes, the nuncio and some of his episcopal colleagues.

The persecution of the Church actually intensified as Romero's legendary preaching week by week confronted the human rights violations, the political violence, the corrupt system of justice, the iniquitous land tenure system and the suffering of El Salvador's poor. He endeavoured to make the Word of God come alive in the concrete situation of El Salvador, in the lives of the poor. His homilies were broadcast each week on the diocesan radio station and brought him a massive audience beyond the packed cathedral. He teased out all the meaning from the Gospel and then applied it directly to contemporary El Salvador. The Mass was never a political rally but rather a giant catechetical workshop in the heart of the Eucharistic celebration where he told the truth about the situation in the country. His message was utterly consistent. No to the killings of the right. No to the violence of the left. Yes to political organisation. Yes to the option for the poor. Social Justice for the poor. Human rights for all. Yes to dialogue. He invited the wealthy groups to a change of heart - sometimes gently; sometimes more sharply. They believed he was deranged or duped. There began to be seen bumper stickers 'Be a Patriot. Kill a priest'. Six priests were killed before Romero. At the funeral of one of them he said, "My job seems to be going around collecting dead bodies".

He brought hope to his people in a situation of escalating violence, suffering and tragedy. He generated international solidarity. He gave hope to many of us here in Europe and North America. Cardinal Hume offered him important support; CAFOD funded the reconstruction of his radio station twice after it was bombed and taken out of action. As violence intensified in February 1980 he appealed to President Jimmy Carter to stop military aid to Salvador's armed forces as it was being used to repress the people. The army and the government were livid. But the repression simply got worse. On 23rd March he made a direct appeal to the enlisted men in the army not to kill their fellow Salvadorans - the law of God 'Thou shalt not kill', he reminded them, was more important than an unjust order to shoot. He said, "I beg you, I implore you, I order you, in the name of God and in the name of this suffering people, stop the repression". The plan, long prepared, for his elimination was put into action. The next day he died at the altar after preaching a beautiful homily on the gospel text 'Unless a grain of wheat dies and falls into the ground…' (John 12:24)

For three years Romero had staved off civil war - the only person who could be heard by both left and right in an ever-polarising context. Following his assassination the war was unstoppable and over the next 12 years it claimed more than 70,000 lives. Romero was a martyr for the option for the poor - which he lived and promoted; a martyr to the magisterium of the Church - to Gaudium at Spes and the whole body of Catholic social doctrine; but a martyr to political incomprehension too!

Archbishop Romero's relevance to the Church and the justice and peace movement in 2005 is manifold. First and foremost he is a credible witness to the resurrection in this post-modernist age. A model Christian, his spirit gives us energy. His identification with the poor demonstrates that the 'option for the poor' is not just meaningless rhetoric from the late 20th century. The gospel is addressed to all but its privileged recipients are the poor. It is good news for the poor. It can be good news for us the rich - provided that WE in our lives are good news to the poor. He spoke the truth fearlessly, prophetically. He was an evangeliser par excellence. There was just no 'spin'. He unmasked the idolatry of the time and named it. The idolatry of wealth. The idolatry of national security. And the idolatry of the party organisation - on the left.

Today we look not at tiny El Salvador but at our tiny globalised planet. The poor in Africa are our crucified peoples. The scandal of 1.2 billion people living on less than $1 a day; 40 million people living today with HIV - most without medication, social support or pastoral care - and no vaccine. The misuse and misallocation of our global resources - plenty for war and precious little for the global poor. The global divide widens. Global tension and conflict increase far beyond the Middle East. But we resolutely believe that 'another world is possible' - in John Paul's phrase 'a civilisation of love', a world of solidarity and justice. We really can 'Make Poverty History'. But global security must not be a new idolatry tied up simply with global anti-terrorist measures - we must rather struggle for human security for everyone and that must include our global war on abject poverty and destitution. Oscar Romero would be with us at the very front of the march.

Ignacio Ellacuria, martyred himself in 1989, said that with Archbishop Romero God passed through El Salvador. I believe we could say that with Archbishop Romero God passed through the universal Church. He is the patron to whom we should pray 'Monsenor, guide and illuminate us in our work for justice and peace. Take our concerns to Jesus himself'.

In this jubilee year of the martyrdom I was proud to be able to cooperate with the British province of the Carmelites in enabling the little house where Romero lived at the cancer hospital to be repaired and protected. It has long been a place of pilgrimage, 'a Holy Place'. The Anglicans have already in their own manner canonised Oscar Romero with his statue placed over the West Door of Westminster Abbey alongside Martin Luther King, seven years ago. We pray that his Cause will this year go forward in Rome too. It will bring joy and hope - gaudium et spes - to the bread-breaking justice-seeking pilgrim people of God throughout the world.

My hope is that it may be possible to link all three anniversaries and that Oscar Romero and his spirituality of justice might become a special thread in the life of Aylesford, to strengthen and give joy and hope to the justice and peace movement here in England and to the greater glory of God.

Julian Filochowski

25th September 2005

Your petitions will be remembered at Mass and in prayer by the Carmelites during these Novena days.

Carmelite sister, Saint Edith Stein, was a born into an observant Jewish family. However, by her mid teens, became an atheist. On January 1, 1922, Edith Stein was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church.

Edith Stein was arrested in 1942 and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp where she died in a gas chamber.

On May 1, 1987, Stein was beatified as a martyr by Pope John Paul II and then canonized by him on October 11, 1998.

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