Il-Ħames Ħadd tal-Għid
Messalin A pp 205
As the number of disciples continued to grow, the
Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being
neglected in the daily distribution. So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the
word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable
men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer
and to the ministry of the word.” The proposal was acceptable to the whole
community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit,
also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a
convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and
laid hands on them. The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni
- Qari mill-Ktieb ta' l-Atti ta' l-Appostli
6, 1-7
F'dawk il-jiem l-għadd tad-dixxipli kien qiegħed
jiżdied,għalhekk sar xi tgergir mil-Lhud Griegi kontra l-Lhud, għax dehrilhom
li ma kienx hemm min jieħu ħsieb ir-romol tagħhom fil-ministeru ta' kuljum. Għalhekk
it-Tnax sejħu l-ġemgħa tad-dixxipli u qalulhom:
"Mhux sewwa li aħna nħallu l-Kelma ta' Alla biex naqdu l-imwejjed. Mela,
l-aħwa, ħudu ħsieb u agħżlu minn
………………………….
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises. R/
praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises. R/
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.`` R/
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine. R/
Salm Responsorjali - Salm
32(33)
R/ Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
Għannu, ġusti, bil-ferħ lill-Mulej;
jixirqilhom ifaħħruh in-nies sewwa.
Faħħru l-Mulej bid-daqq taċ-ċetra;
Għannulu fuq l-arpa b'għaxar kordi. R/
Għax sewwa hi l-kelma tal-Mulej,
kollox bil-fedelta' huwa għamel.
Hu jħobb id-dritt u s-sewwa;
bit-tjieba tal-Mulej mimlija l-art. R/
Ara, għajnejn il-Mulej fuq dawk li jibżgħu minnu,
fuq dawk li jittamaw fit-tjieba tiegħu,
biex jeħilsilhom mill-mewt ħajjithom,
u jaħjihom fi żmien il-ġuġ. R/
…………………………
Beloved:
Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious
in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a
spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it says in Scripture: Behold,
I am laying a stone in Zion :
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, and A
stone that will make people stumble, and a rock that will make them fall.
They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny. You are “a chosen
race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may
announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful
light.
It-Tieni Lezzjoni - Qari
mill-Ewwel Ittra ta' San Pietru 2, 4-9
Għeżież, ersqu lejn il-Mulej, li hu dik il-ġebla ħajja
li kienet imwarrba mill-bennejja, imma magħżula minn : "Jien
inqiegħed f'Sijon ġebla tax-xewka, magħżula u għażiża; min jemmen fiha ma
jkollux għax jitħawwad." Għalikom,
mela, li temmnu, dan huwa ġieħ! Għal dawk li ma jemmnux, din l-istess ġebla li
warrbu l-bennejja saret il-ġebla tax-xewka, ġebla ta' tiġrif u tfixkil. Tfixklu
għax ma qagħudx għall-kelma ta' Alla. Għal
dan dan kienu ddestinati. Imma
intom ġens maħtur, saċerdozju rjali, nazzjoni qaddis, poplu li Alla
kiseb għalih, biex ixxandru t-tifhir ta' dak li sejħilkom mid-dlam għad-dawl
tiegħu ta' l-għaġeb. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
………………………
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in
me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so
that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know
where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way
and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If
you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and
have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Master,
show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for
so long a time and you still do not know
me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us
the Father’? Do you not believe that I
am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do
not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the
Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that
I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the
Father. This is the Word of the Lord.
L-Evanġelju
- skond San Ġwann
14,
1-12
F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: "Tħallux qalbkom titħawwad! Emmnu f'Alla, u emmnu fija wkoll. Fid-dar ta'
Missieri hemm ħafna postijiet. Li ma kienx hekk, kont ngħidilkom: "Sejjer inħejjilkom fejn toqogħdu?" U meta mmur
nħejjilkom post, nerġa' niġi biex neħodkom miegħi biex, fejn inkun jien,
tkunu intom ukoll. U t-triq għall-post
fejn sejjer tafuha." Tumas qallu:
"Mulej, aħna ma nafux fejn inti sejjer.Kif nistgħu nafu
t-triq?" Wieġbu Ġesu': "Jiena
hu t-triq, il-verita' u l-ħajja. Ħadd ma
jmur għand il-Missier jekk mhux permezz
tiegħi. Kieku għaraftu lili, kontu tagħrfu wkoll lil Missieri: minn :
"Mulej, urina l-Missier, u jkun biżżejjed għalina." Ġesu' wieġeb: "Ili
daqshekk magħkom, Filippu, u għadek ma għaraftnix? Min ra lili ra lill-Missier. Kif tgħidli:
"Urina l-Missier?" Ma temmnux
li jien fil-Missier u l-Missier fija? Il-kliem li ngħidilkom jien, ma ngħidux minn
/////////////////////////////
COMMENTARY:
MAN
MORE THAN DUST?
We can evaluate the words that begin this Sunday’s Gospel against this background: Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.”
These words are the Christian response to the most disturbing of human questions. Death is not -- as it was at the beginning of the Bible and among the pagans -- a descent into Sheol or Hades where one becomes a worm or shadow; it is not -- as it is for certain atheist biologists -- a restitution of one’s organic material to nature for the subsequent use of other living things; nor is death -- as it is for certain contemporary forms of religiosity inspired by Eastern doctrines (often poorly understood) -- a dissolution of the person into the great ocean of universal consciousness, in the All or, according to some, the Nothing.
It is rather a going to be with Christ in the bosom of the Father, to be where he is.
The veil of mystery is not removed because it cannot be removed. Just as color cannot be described to a person born blind or sound to a person born deaf, so also one cannot explain what a life outside of time and space is like to those who are still in time and space. It is not God who wanted to keep us in darkness. He has however told us about the essentials: Eternal life will be a full communion, soul and body, with the risen Christ, a sharing of his glory and joy.
Benedict XVI, in his encyclical on hope, “Spe Salvi,” reflects on the nature of eternal life from an existential point of view. He begins by acknowledging that there are people who do not in fact desire eternal life, indeed they are afraid of it. To what end, they ask, should a life that has shown itself to be full of problems and sufferings be prolonged?
The reason for this fear, the Pope explains, is that these people are only able to imagine life as it is here below; while it is instead a matter of a life that is free of all the limitations that we experience in the present. “Eternal life,” the encyclical says, “would be like plunging into the ocean of infinite love, a moment in which time -- the before and after -- no longer exists” (No. 12).
Eternity, it adds, “is not an unending succession of days in the calendar, but something more like the supreme moment of satisfaction, in which totality embraces us and we embrace totality” (No. 12).
With these words perhaps the Pope is tacitly alluding to the work of his famous fellow countryman. The ideal of Goethe’s “Faust” is in fact to achieve such a fullness of life and satisfaction that it brings him to exclaim: “Stay, you fleeting moment! You are too beautiful!”
I believe that this is the least inadequate idea that we can form of eternal life: a moment that we wish will never end and that -- unlike all the moments of happiness in this life -- will never end!
There come to my mind the words of one of the best loved songs among English-speaking Christians, “Amazing Grace”: “When we've been there 10,000 years, / Bright shining as the sun, / We've no less days to sing God's praise / Than when we've first begun.”
[Translation from the Italian original by Joseph G. Trabbic]
No comments:
Post a Comment