Twenty-second Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Messalin C pp378
Reading 1 SIRACH 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
My child, conduct
your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. Humble yourself the more, the greater you
are, and you will find favour with God. What is too sublime for you, seek not, into
things beyond your strength search not. The mind of a sage appreciates
proverbs, and an attentive ear is the joy of the wise. Water quenches a flaming
fire, and alms atone for sins. This is
the Word of The Lord.
L-Ewwel
Qari -- Bin Sirak
3, 17-20, 28-29
Ibni, kun ġwejjed fix-xogħol li tagħmel, u tkun maħbub iktar minn wieħed
milqugħ min-nies. Akbar m'int, iktar għandek iċċekken, ruħek, U ssib grazzja
quddiem il-Mulej. Ħafna huma l-imkabbrin u l-imsebbħin, imma l-Mulej
jikxef lill-umli l-misteri tiegħu. Għax kbira hi s-setgħa tal-Mulej, imma msebbaħ min-nies umli. M'hemmx
duwa għall-bniedem kollu kburija, għax din ħaxixa ħażina b'għeruqha mxenxla
fih. Min għandu l-għerf jifhem il-proverbji u l-għaref ħerqan li jkollu min
jisimgħu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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Responsorial Psalm PSalms
68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11
R. (cf. 11b) God, in your goodness,
you
have made a home for the poor.
The just rejoice
and exult before God;
they are glad and rejoice.
Sing to God, chant praise to his name;
whose name is the LORD. R/
they are glad and rejoice.
Sing to God, chant praise to his name;
whose name is the LORD. R/
The father of
orphans and the defender of widows
is God in his holy dwelling.
God gives a home to the forsaken;
he leads forth prisoners to prosperity. R/
is God in his holy dwelling.
God gives a home to the forsaken;
he leads forth prisoners to prosperity. R/
A bountiful rain
you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy. R/
you restored the land when it languished;
your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy. R/
Salm
Responsorjali (Salm 67)
R/ O Alla, int ħejjejt dar għall-fqajjar.
Il-ġusti jithennew quddiem Alla,
jifirħu u jaqbżu bil-ferħ.
Għannu lil Alla, faħħru ismu,
Tgħaxxqu fil-Mulej, aqbżu bil-ferħ quddiemu! R/
Missier l-iltiema u difensur tar-romol,
hekk hu Alla fl-għamara mqaddsa tiegħu.
Alla jagħti d-dar lil dawk li huma weħidhom,
U lill-ħabsin bir-riżq joħroġhom. R/
Xita bil-kotra inti bgħatt, O Alla, fuq l-art, wirt tiegħek,
U meta kienet bil-għatx inti ħjejtha.
Il-poplu tiegħek għammar fiha;
fi tjubitek o Alla,
għall-fqajjar ħejjejtha,. R/
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Reading 2 HEBrews
12:18-19, 22-24A
Brothers and sisters: You have
not approached that which could be touched and a blazing fire and gloomy
darkness and storm and a trumpet blast and
a voice speaking words such that those who heard begged that no message be
further addressed to them. No, you have approached Mount Zion and the city of
the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal
gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the
judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator
of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than
that of Abel. This is the Word of The
Lord.
It-Tieni Qari - -Lhud 12, 18-19, 22-24
Ħuti, intom ma rsaqtux lejn in-nar materjali u jħeġġeġ
tas-Sinaj; lejn dak is-swied u
d-dlam u r-riefnu; lejn dak id-daqq tat-tromba u
l-ħoss ta' kliem, li dawk li kienu jisimgħuh talbu bil-ħerqa biex ma jkellimhomx aktar. Imma
intom ersaqtu lejn il-muntanja ta’ Sijon u lejn il-belt ta’ Alla l-ħaj, li hi
Ġerusalem tas-Sema; ersaqtu lejn eluf ta’ anġli f’ġemgħa ferrieħa, lejn il-ġemgħa tal-ulied
ewlenin li isimhom hu miktub fis-sema,
lejn Alla, l-imħallef ta’ kulħadd; lejn l-erwieħ ta’ nies tajba u perfetti;
lejn Ġesu’, il-medjatur ta’ patt ġdid. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
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Gospel LuKe
14:1, 7-14
On a sabbath Jesus
went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there
were observing him carefully. He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing
how they were choosing the places of honour at the table. “When you are invited
by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honour. A more distinguished guest than you
may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach
you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with
embarrassment to take the lowest place. Rather,
when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes
to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will
enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. For every one who exalts himself will
be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Then he said to the host who invited
him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your
brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbours, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold
a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed
will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at
the resurrection of the righteous.” This
is the Word of The Lord.
Darba, kien
is-Sibt, Ġesu’ daħal għand wieħed mill-kapijiet tal-Fariżej biex jiekol għandu,
u huma qagħdu għajnejhom fih.Billi ra b’għajnejh kif il-mistednin bdew jagħżlu l-postijiet ta’ quddiem fil-mejda, qalilhom din il-parabbola: “Meta wieħed
jistiednek għall-festa tat-tieġ, tmurx toqgħod fil-post ta’ quddiem,
li ma jkunx hemm xi mistieden aqwa minnek mistieden minnu, u dak li jkun
stieden lilek u lilu jiġu fuqek igħidlek, "Agħti l-post lil dan," u
int imbagħad, b’regħxa ta’ mistħija fuqek, ikollok tieħu l-post ta’ l-aħħar. Għall-kuntrarju,
meta tkun mistieden, mur inxteħet fil-post ta’ l-aħħar, biex meta jiġi dak li
stiednek, jgħidlek, "Ħabib, itla’
f’post ‘il fuq." U dan ikun ta’ ġieħ
għalik quddiem dawk kollha li jkunu
fil-mejda miegħek. Għax kull min jitkabbar, jiċċekken; u min jiċċekken, jitkabbar.” Imbaghad qal ukoll lil dak li kien
stiednu: “Meta
tagħti ikla jew pranzu, tistedinx lil-ħbiebek jew lil ħutek jew lil qrabatek,
anqas ġirien għonja, għaxn għandhom mnejn
imbagħad jistiednu lilek huma, u hekk iroddulek il-pjaċir li tkun għamiltilhom.Għall-kuntrarju, meta tagħmel ikla, stieden il-foqra,
Il-magħtubin, iz-zopop u l-għomja, u ħieni int, għax dawn ma għandhomx minn fejn iroddulek pjaċir bi pjaċir, imma
jroddhulek Alla meta l-ġusti jqumu
għall-ħajja!” Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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COMMENTARY
Father Cantalamessa on Modesty
Here is a translation of a
commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero
Cantalamessa, on the readings from this Sunday's liturgy.
Be
Modest in What You Do!
The beginning of this Sunday's
Gospel helps us to correct a widely diffused prejudice: "One Sabbath when
he went to dine at the house of a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees, they
were watching him." Reading the Gospel from a certain angle we have ended
up making the Pharisees the prototype for all vices: hypocrisy, duplicity,
falsity; Jesus' enemies par excellence. The terms "Pharisee" and
"Pharisaical" have entered into the vocabulary of many languages with
negative connotations.
Such an idea of the Pharisees is not correct. There were certainly many among them who corresponded to this negative image and it is with these that Jesus has serious problems. But not all of them were like this. Nicodemus, who comes to see Jesus one night and who later defended him before the Sanhedrin, was a Pharisee (cf. John 3:1; 7:50ff.). Saul was a Pharisee before his conversion and was certainly a sincere and zealous person then, if misguided. Gamaliel, who defended the apostles before the Sanhedrin, was a Pharisee (cf. Acts 5:34ff.).
Jesus' relationships with the Pharisees were not only conflictual. They often shared the same convictions, such as faith in the resurrection of the dead and the love of God and neighbour as the first and most important commandment of the law. Some, as we see in Sunday's Gospel, even invited Jesus to dinner at their house. Today there is agreement that the Pharisees did not want Jesus to be condemned as much as their rival sect, the Sadducees, who belonged toJerusalem 's priestly
caste.
For all these reasons, it would be a very good thing to stop using the terms "Pharisee" and "Pharisaical" in a disparaging way. This would also help dialogue with the Jews who recall with great respect the role played by the Pharisees in their history, especially after the destruction ofJerusalem .
During the dinner that Sabbath, Jesus taught two important things: one directed to those who were invited and the other to their host. To the host Jesus says (perhaps privately or only in the presence of his disciples): "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours ..." This is what Jesus himself did when he invited the poor, the afflicted, the meek, the hungry, the persecuted -- the persons named in the beatitudes -- to the great banquet of the kingdom.
But this time I would like to focus on what Jesus says to the invitees.
"When you are invited to a wedding feast, do not take a place of honour
..." Jesus does not intend to give a lesson in good manners here. Neither
does he wish to encourage the subtle calculation of those who take a lower
place with the secret hope of gaining a more honourable place from the host.
The parable could deceive us if we do not think about the banquet and the host
that Jesus has in mind. The banquet is the most universal one of the kingdom
and God is the host.Such an idea of the Pharisees is not correct. There were certainly many among them who corresponded to this negative image and it is with these that Jesus has serious problems. But not all of them were like this. Nicodemus, who comes to see Jesus one night and who later defended him before the Sanhedrin, was a Pharisee (cf. John 3:1; 7:50ff.). Saul was a Pharisee before his conversion and was certainly a sincere and zealous person then, if misguided. Gamaliel, who defended the apostles before the Sanhedrin, was a Pharisee (cf. Acts 5:34ff.).
Jesus' relationships with the Pharisees were not only conflictual. They often shared the same convictions, such as faith in the resurrection of the dead and the love of God and neighbour as the first and most important commandment of the law. Some, as we see in Sunday's Gospel, even invited Jesus to dinner at their house. Today there is agreement that the Pharisees did not want Jesus to be condemned as much as their rival sect, the Sadducees, who belonged to
For all these reasons, it would be a very good thing to stop using the terms "Pharisee" and "Pharisaical" in a disparaging way. This would also help dialogue with the Jews who recall with great respect the role played by the Pharisees in their history, especially after the destruction of
During the dinner that Sabbath, Jesus taught two important things: one directed to those who were invited and the other to their host. To the host Jesus says (perhaps privately or only in the presence of his disciples): "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours ..." This is what Jesus himself did when he invited the poor, the afflicted, the meek, the hungry, the persecuted -- the persons named in the beatitudes -- to the great banquet of the kingdom.
In life, Jesus wants to say, Choose the last place, try to work more for the benefit of others than for your own benefit. Be modest in evaluating your merits, allow others to do this instead ("No one is a good judge of his own case"), and already in this life God will lift you up. He will lift you up in his grace; he will make you rise in the ranks of Jesus' friends and true disciples, which is the only thing that really matters.
He will also exalt you in the esteem of others. It is a surprising fact but a true one: It is not only God who "comes to the humble but holds the proud at a distance" (cf. Psalm 107:6); men do the same, whether or not they are believers. Modesty, when it is sincere and not affected, conquers, makes those who practice it loved, makes their company desirable, their opinion appreciated. True glory flees from those who seek it and seeks those who flee from it.
We live in a society that has an extreme need to hear this Gospel message of humility again. Running to take the first seats, perhaps without scruple using others as steppingstones, being opportunistic and viciously competitive -- these are things that are universally condemned but, unfortunately, they are also universally practiced. The Gospel has an impact on society, even when it speaks of humility and modesty.
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