12th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B
It-12-il Ħadd matul
is-Sena - Sena 'B'
The Lord addressed Job out of
the storm and said: Who shut within
doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb; when I made the clouds its
garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands? When I set limits for it and
fastened the bar of its door, and said:
Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be
stilled!
This is the Word of the Lord.
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni -
mill-Ktieb ta' Ġob
38, 1. 8-11
Il-Mulej wieġeb lil Ġob minn ġot-tempesta u qallu: "Min kien dak li ħalaq il-baħar b'bibien, meta
dan b'qawwa ħareġ mill-ġuf, meta bis-sħab libbistu, u bid-dlam fisqietu, meta
t-truf tiegħu qegħedtlu bħal xatbiet, u bibien li bihom għalaqtu u għedtlu: "Sa
hawn biss tasal u mhux aktar, ma taqbiżx minn hawn il-qawwa ta' mwieġek"?
Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
R. (1b) Give
thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting.
They who sailed the sea in ships,
trading on the deep waters,
These saw the works of the LORD
and his wonders in the abyss. R/
trading on the deep waters,
These saw the works of the LORD
and his wonders in the abyss. R/
His command raised up a storm wind
which tossed its waves on high.
They mounted up to heaven; they sank to the depths;
their hearts melted away in their plight. R/
which tossed its waves on high.
They mounted up to heaven; they sank to the depths;
their hearts melted away in their plight. R/
They cried to the LORD in their distress;
from their straits he rescued them,
He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze,
and the billows of the sea were stilled. R/
from their straits he rescued them,
He hushed the storm to a gentle breeze,
and the billows of the sea were stilled. R/
They rejoiced
that they were calmed,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his kindness
and his wondrous deeds to the children of men. R/
and he brought them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his kindness
and his wondrous deeds to the children of men. R/
Salm
Responsorjali Salm 106(107)
R/ Roddu ħajr lill-Mulej, għax għal dejjem
it-tjieba tiegħu.
Dawk li jbaħhru fuq l-iġfna,
li jinnengozjaw fuq l-ibħra bla tarf,
raw l-opri tal-Mulej
u l-għeġubijiet tiegħu f'qiegħ il-baħar. R/
Hu ordna u qajjem riefnu,
li qanqal imwieġ il-baħar.
Għolew sas-smewwiet u niżlu sa qiegħ il-baħar;
qalbhom
bdiet tferfer bil-biża'. R
Għajtu
lill-Mulej fl-hemm tagħhom,
u
mid-dwejjaq tagħhom ħelishom.
U bidel ir-riefnu f'żiffa,.
u sikket mewġ il-baħar. R/
Huma ferħu għax ibbnazza;
u
hu wassalhom sal-port li xtaqu.
Ħa
jroddu ħajr lill-Mulej għal tjubitu,
għall-għeġubijiet
tiegħu mal-bnedmin. R/
Brothers and sisters: The love of Christ impels us, once we have come to
the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died
for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him
who for their sake died and was raised. Consequently, from now on we regard no
one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh,
yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new
things have come. ! This is the Word of the Lord.
It-Tieni
Lezzjoni - mit-Tieni Ittra lill-Korintin 5, 14-17
Ħuti, l-imħabba
ta' Kristu ġġegħelna naħsbu dan: li
wieħed miet għal kulħadd, meta kulħadd miet. U miet għal kulħadd biex dawk li
jgħixu ma jgħixux għalihom infushom,
imma għal dak li miet u rxoxta għalihom. Għalhekk aħna ma nagħrfu lil ħadd skont il-ġisem.
Jekk għarafna lil Kristu skont il-ġisem, issa ma nagħrfuhx aktar hekk. Meta wieħed
jingħaqad ma' Kristu, isir ħolqien ġdid; il-qadim għadda u daħal il-ġdida.
Gospel MarK 4:35-41
On that day, as evening drew
on, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let
us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in
the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came
up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus
was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher,
do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said
to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then
he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were
filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind
and sea obey?” ! This is the Word of the Lord.
Evanġelju - Qari skont San Mark 4, 35-41
Darba,
filgħaxija, Ġesu' qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu:
"Ejjew naqsmu għax-xatt l-ieħor."
Ħallew in-nies, u ħaduh magħhom kif kien fid-dgħajsa; u marru miegħu dgħajjes
oħra. U qam riefnu kbir, u l-mewġ beda
tiela' għal gĠod-dgħajsa, hekk li kienet
ġa bdiet timtela bl-ilma. Hu kien
fil-poppa, rieqed fuq imħadda. Qajmuh u
qalulu: "Mgħallem, dan qisu, mhu xejn għalik li
aħna se nintilfu?" Imbagħad qam,
ordna ir-riħ u qal lill-baħar: "Iskot! Biżżejjed!" U r-riħ waqaf u waqgħet kalma kbira.
U qalilhom: "Dal-biża kollu għaliex? Meta ma għandkommx
fidi?" U qabadhom biża' kbir, u
bdej jgħidu lil xulxin: "Dan min hu, mela, biex saħansitra r-riħ
u l-baħar jisimgħu minnu?" Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
////////////////////////////////////////////////
Father Cantalamessa on
Calming the Storm -Pontifical Household Preacher on This
Sunday's Gospel
A Great Storm
Arose
The Gospel of this Sunday is the calming of the
storm. In the evening, after a day of intense work, Jesus got into a boat and
told the apostles to go the other side. Exhausted, he fell asleep in the stern. Meanwhile, a great storm arose which
threatened to destroy the boat. Frightened,
the apostles woke Jesus, saying to him: "Teacher, do you not care if we
perish?" After rising, Jesus ordered the sea to be calm: "Peace! Be
still!" The wind ceased and there was a great calm. Then he said to them:
"Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?"
We are going to try to understand the message
addressed to us today in this page of the Gospel.
The crossing of the Sea of
Galilee indicates the voyage of life. The sea is my family, my
community, my heart itself. In small seas, as we know, great and unforeseen
storms can be unleashed. Who has not
known some of these storms, when all is darkened and the little boat of our
life begins to fill with water on all sides, while God seems to be absent or
asleep. An alarming diagnosis from the doctor, and all of a sudden we are at
the height of the storm.
What to do? What can we hold fast to and on what
side must we lower the anchor? Jesus does not give us the magic recipe to
escape all storms. He has not promised us that we will avoid all difficulties.
He has promised us, however, the strength to surmount them if we ask him for
it.
St. Paul : "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power
is made perfect in weakness." From
that day, he tells us, he even began to glory in his weaknesses, persecutions
and anxieties, to the point of being able to say:
"When I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12: 7-10).
Trust in God: This is the message of
the Gospel. On that day, what saved the disciples from shipwreck was the fact
of taking Jesus in the boat, before beginning the crossing.
This is also for us the best guarantee against the storms of life: to take Jesus with us. The means to take Jesus in
the boat of one's life and of one's family is faith, prayer and observance of
the commandments.
When a storm is unleashed in the sea, at least in the past, seamen used to pour
oil on the waves to calm them. On the waves of fear and anxiety we must pour
trust in God.
St. Peter exhorted the early Christians to trust in God in persecutions, saying: "Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares
about you" (1 Peter 5: 7). The
lack of faith of the disciples that Jesus reproached on that occasion was due
to the fact that they doubted that he was "concerned" about their
lives and safety: "Do you not
care if we perish?"
God takes care of us, he is concerned about our lives! A frequently cited
anecdote speaks of a man who had a dream. He saw two pairs of footprints that
had been imprinted in the desert sand and understood that one pair of
footprints was his and the other pair was that of Jesus, who was walking by his
side. At a certain moment, one pair of
footprints disappeared, and he understood that this happened exactly at a
difficult moment of his life. Then he
complained to Christ, who left him alone in the moment of trial. "But, I
was with you!" replied Jesus. "How
is it possible that you were with me, when there was only one pair of
footprints in the sand?" the man said.
"They were mine," replied Jesus. "In those moments, I
carried you on my shoulders."
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