COME AWAY TO REST AWHILE!

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Is-16-il Ħadd matul is-Sena

Messalin B  pp421

Reading 1  -  Jeremiah 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the LORD. Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds. I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply. I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the LORD. Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. This is the name they give him: "The LORD our justice."  This is the Word of the Lord.

L-Ewwel Lezzjoni  -  Qari mill-Profeta Ġeremija  23, 1-6

Dan jgħid il-Mulej:  Gwaj għar-ragħajja li jeqirdu u jxerrdu l-merħla tal-mergħa tiegħi  - oraklu tal-Mulej.   Għalhekk  dan   igħid il-Mulej, Alla ta' Iżrael,  lir-ragħajja li jirgħu  il-poplu tiegħi:  "Intom xerridtu n-nagħaġ tiegħi, gerrixtuhom u ma ħadtux aktar ħsiebhom. Arawni, se naħseb fikom jien minħabba l-ħażen ta'  egħmilkom  --  oraklu tal-Mulej. U jiena niġbor il-fdal  tan-ngħaġ tiegħi  mill-artijiet kollha li xerridthom fihom, u   rreġġagħhom  lura lejn il-mergħa tagħhom,  u jnisslu u jokrtu.    U nqiegħed  fuqhom  rgħajja li jirgħughom,  u ma jitbeżżgħux aktar,  ma jitwaxux; u ħadd minnhom  ma jonqos  --  oraklu tal-Mulej. Araw,  għad jasal żmien  -- oraklu tal-Mulej  --   meta nqajjem lil David  rimja ġusta, li jsaltan ta' sultan, u jmexxi  bil-għaqal jagħmel is-sewwa u l-ħaqq  fil-pajjiż.     Fi żmienu  Ġuda jkun salv,  u Israel igħammar fiż-żgur.   U dan  hu l-isem li  jsejħulu:  Il-Mulej is-Sewwa tagħna. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm                      Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.                                                    R/

He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.                                   R/

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.                                                          R/

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.                                                           R/

Salm  Responsorjali     -     Salm 22 23)

                R/     Il-Mulej hu r-ragħaj tiegħi, xejn ma jonqosni.

Il-Mulej hu r-ragħaj tiegħi,

xejn ma jonqosni;

f'mergħat kollha ħdura jqegħedni.

Ħdejn l-ilma, fejn nistrieħ, jeħodni:

hemm hu jrejjaqni.                                        R/

Imexxini fit-triq tas-sewwa

minħabba f'isem tiegħu.

Imqar jekk nimxi f'wied mudlam,

ma nibżax mill-ħsara, għax inti miegħi.

Il-ħatar tiegħek u l-għasluġ tiegħek

huma jwennsuni.                                            R/

Inti tħejji mejda għalija

quddiem l-egħdewwa tiegħi.

Biż-żejt tidlikli rasi,

u l-kalċi tiegħi tfawwarli.                             R/

Miegħi,  iva,  jimxu it-tjieba u l-ħniena

il-jiem kollha ta' ħajti.

U ngħammar f'dar il-Mulej

sakemm indum ħaj!.                                      R/

Reading 2                             Ephesians 2:13-18

Brothers and sisters: In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.  This is the Word of the Lord.

It-Tieni Lezzjoni   -   Qari mill-Ittra lill-Efesin  6, 30-34

Ħuti,  imma issa,  fi Kristu Ġesu', intom, li  darba kontu 'l bogħod,  issa tqarribtu bis-saħħa  tad-demm ta' Kristu. Kristu hu s-sliem tagħna, hu, li minna t-tnejn għamel  poplu wieħed, billi ġarraf il-ħajt li kien jifridna  -  il-mibegħa ta' bejnietna – u ħassar bis-sagrifiċċju ta'  ġismu  l-Liġi bil-kmandamenti u l-preċetti tagħha.    Mit-tnejn, ried b'hekk joħloq bih innifsu  bniedem wieħed,  il-bniedem il-ġdid, billi jagħmilhom paċi  t-tnejn bejniethom  u jħabbibhom it-tnejn ma'  Alla f'ġisem  wieħed  permezz  tas-salib li bih  qered il-mibegħda ta' bejniethom. Imbagħad ġie jħabbar is-sliem, sliem lilkom li kontu   fil-bogħod, u sliem lil dawk li kienu fil-qrib.   Permezz tiegħu, t-tnejn li aħna għandna bi Spirtu wieħed id-dħul  għal għand  il-Missier.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej 

Gospel    -  Mark 6:30-34

The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in great numbers,and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

L-Evanġelju       -   Qari skond San Mark 6, 30-34

F'dak iż-żmien,   l-appostli reġgħu ġew ħdejn Ġesu'  u qalulu kull ma kienu għamlu u għallmu.U hu qalilhom:   "Ejjew miegħi intom biss weħidkomf'xi post imwarrab, u  nistrieħu ftit."    Għax tassew,  kien hemm ħafna  nies  ġejjin u sejrin, u anqas żmien  biex jieklu  ma kienu jħallulhom. Marru mela bid-dgħajsa weħidhom lejn post imwarrab, imma n-nies rawhom sejrin;  kienu ħafna  dawk li  għarfuhom, u telqu jiġru 'l hemm bil-mixi,  nies  mill-ibliet kollha, u waslu qabilhom. Xħin niżel  l-art mid-dgħajsa ra kotra kbira ta' nies u   tħassarhom,  għax kienu qishom ngħaġ bla ma għandhom  ragħaj, u qabad igħallimhom ħafna ħwejjeġ.   Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Commentary:

Father Cantalamessa on How to Live Vacation

Come Away to Rest a While

In the Gospel passage Jesus invites his disciples to separate themselves from the crowd and their work and to go away with him to a "lonely place."

He taught them to do what he did: to balance action and contemplation, to go from contact with people to secret and regenerating dialogue with oneself and with God.

The theme is of great importance and timeliness. The rhythm of life has acquired a speed that surpasses our capacity to adapt.  The scene in "Modern Times" of Charlie Chaplain absorbed in the assembly line is the exact image of this situation. In this way one loses the capacity for critical separation which allows one to exercise dominion over the flow, often chaotic and disordered, of circumstances and daily experiences.

Jesus, in the Gospel, never gives the impression of being agitated by hurry. Sometimes he even wastes time: All look for him and he does not let himself be found, absorbed as he is in prayer. Sometimes, as in our Gospel passage, he even invites his disciples to lose time with him: "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while." He often recommends that one not be harassed. Our bodies benefit so much from such "respites."

Among these "pauses" are precisely the summer vacations which we are living. For the majority of people, they are the only occasion to rest a while, to converse in a relaxed manner with their own spouse, to play with the children, to read a good book or to contemplate nature in silence; in short, to relax. To make of holidays a more frenetic time than in the rest of the year would be to ruin them.

To the commandment: "Remember to keep the Sabbath holy," one should add: "Remember to keep vacations holy." "Stop (literally: vacate, take a vacation!) Know that I am God," says God in the Psalms.

A simple thing to do might be to enter a mountain church or chapel at a time when it is empty, and to spend some time there "apart," alone with ourselves, before God.

This need for times of solitude and listening is posed in a special way to those who proclaim the Gospel and to animators of the Christian community, who must stay constantly in contact with the source of the Word that they must transmit to their brothers. The laity should rejoice, not feel neglected, every time that their priest leaves for a time for intellectual and spiritual recharging.

It must be said that Jesus' vacation with the apostles was of brief duration, because the people, seeing him going away, went ahead of him on foot to the place of disembarkation. But Jesus does not get irritated with the people who give him no peace, but is "moved," seeing them abandoned to themselves, as sheep without a shepherd," and he begins to "teach them many things."

This shows us that one must be ready to interrupt even one's deserved rest in face of a situation of grave need of one's neighbor.

One cannot, for example, abandon to his fate, or leave in a hospital, an elderly person one is in charge of, to enjoy one's vacation without disturbances. We cannot forget the many persons whose loneliness they have not chosen, but suffer, and not for a week or a month, but for years, perhaps throughout their lives.

Also here there is room for a small practical suggestion: To look around and see if there is some one to help feel less alone in life, with a visit, a call, an invitation to see them one day in the place of vacation -- whatever the heart and circumstances suggest.

[Translation and adaptation from the Italian by ZENIT]   © Innovative Media Inc.