Wednesday 30 December 2015

TREASURED WORDS

The Octave Day of Christmas - January 1, 2016

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God

Solennita' tal-Imqaddsa Omm Alla Marija

Messalin Ċ pp 123

Reading 1 - Numbers 6:22-27

The LORD said to Moses: “Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them: This is how you shall bless the Israelites. Say to them: The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace! So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.” This is the Word of Thje Lord.

L-Ewwel Qari - mill-Ktieb tan-Numri 6, 22-27

Il-Mulej kellem lil Mose’ u qallu: “Kellem lil Aron u lil uliedu u għidilhom: "Meta tbierku lil ulied Israel, hekk għandkom tgħidulhom: ‘Ibierkek il-Mulej u jħarsek! Jixħet il-Mulej id-dija ta’ wiċċu fuqek u jurik il-ħniena! Iħares lejk il-Mulej bi mħabba, u jagħtik is-sliem!” Hekk huma jsejħu ismi fuq ulied Iżrael, u jiena nberikhom.” Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm PSALM 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8

R. (2a) May God bless us in his mercy.

May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation. R/

May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide. R/

May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,

and may all the ends of the earth fear him! R/

Salm Responsorjali - Salm 66 (67)

Iħenn għalina Alla, u jberikna.

Iħenn għalina Alla, u jberikna;

idawwar għal fuqna d-dija ta’ wiċċu!

Biex jingħarfu fuq l-art triqatek,

fost il-ġnus kollha s-salvazzjoni tiegħek. R/

Jithennew il-ġnus u jgħannu bil-ferħ,

għax trieġi l-popli bis-sewwa,

u l-ġnus fuq l-art inti tmexxihom. R/

Ifaħħruk il-popli o Alla,

ifaħħruk il-popli kollha.

Iberikna Alla, u tibża minnu

l-art kollha minn tarf għall-ieħor! R/

Reading 2 Galatians 4:4-7

Brothers and sisters: When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. As proof that you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then also an heir, through God. This is the Word of Thje Lord.

It-Tieni Qari - mill-Ittra lill-Galaltin 4, 4-7

Ħuti, meta waslet il-milja taż-żmien, Alla bagħat lil Ibnu, imwieled minn mara, imwieled taħt il-Liġi, biex jifdi lil dawk li kienu taħt il-Liġi, biex ikollna l-adozzjoni ta’ wlied. U għax intom ulied, Alla bagħat l-Ispirtu ta’ Ibnu f’qalbna jgħajjat” “Abba Missier!” U hekk m’intix iżjed ilsir, iżda iben, werriet ukoll bil-grazzja ta’ Alla. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel Luke 2:16-21

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. This is the Word of Thje Lord.

Evanġelju - Qari skond San Luqa 2, 16-21

F’dak iż-żmien: ir-rgħajja marru jgħaġġlu, u sabu lil Marija u lil Ġużeppi, bit-tarbija mimduda f’maxtura. Kif raw dan, bdew igħarrfu b’kulma kien intqal lilhom dwar dik it-tarbija, u kull min semgħhom baqa’ mistagħġeb b’dak li qalulhom ir-rgħajja. Marija, min-naħa tagħha, baqgħet tgħożż f’qalbha dawn il-ħwejjeġ kollha u taħseb fuqhom bejnha u bejn ruħha. Ir-rgħajja mbagħad reġgħu lura, isebbħu u jfaħħru lil Alla għal kulma kienu raw u semgħu, kif l-anġlu kien qalilhom. Meta wasal it-tmien jum biex lit-tifel jgħmlulu ċ-ċirkonċiżjoni, semmewh Ġesu’, bl-isem li kien tah l-anġlu qabel ma tnissel fil-ġuf. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Mary Treasured These Words In Her Heart

What memories do you cherish? Why are these memories so special?

The New Year is upon us. A time to cherish last year’s events and a time to look forward to new challenges. In the midst of the parades and bowl games, we take time to take stock and plan.

In the verses from Luke which we will read on January 1, the mother of Jesus took the time to reflect on the events of her Son’s birth. In doing so, she cherished the memories mothers have of their first experience of child birth. And she cherished the message that her Son would be the Messiah and Lord of all.

Luke had an interest in the low and the outcast. The audience for the message would be the lowly, confirmation of the message would be a common (even overlooked) sight. The audience for the message were the least in society: shepherds. Despite their scriptural and pastoral image, shepherd were held in disdain, for most were hired to watch the flocks of the rich. Without personal financial investment, these hired hands had the reputations as cowards in the face of trouble; many were hired because they lacked any other employable skills. And how would the message be confirmed? The shepherds would see a young family with a newborn. These images were antithetical to common expectations. Many Jews anticipated the Messiah to be born in the midst of luxury; many expected the news of the Messiah would be confirmed by the leadership in Jerusalem (i.e., the Sanhedrin or the Temple priests) and spread from the leaders to the people. Luke painted a much different picture. (Compare the birth of Moses in Exodus to the birth of Jesus for similarities and differences.)

The shepherds spread the Good News to the household; all responded in awe, but one. Mary reacted in a way expected for a Semite woman: silence. But she “treasured up these words, pondering them together in her heart.” Even in her silence, Mary believed the message of the angel. She bore Messiah and Lord into the world. She would add the words of the shepherds to the memories in her heart.

The gospel ended with a transitional verse about the circumcision of Jesus (2:20). His circumcision would lead to the next scene in the infancy narrative: the presentation of the Lord in the Temple (2:22-40).

How do we react to Good News? Do we glorify God? How do we reflect on his goodness in our hearts?

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SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT....

////// ////// ////// WHO CAN’T TEACH YOU? ///// ///// “As Peter entered, Cornelius went to meet him, dropped to his knees before him and bowed low.” —Acts 10:25 ///// The Holy Spirit wants to teach us all things (Jn 14:26). For example, He wants to teach us how to be parents, wives, husbands, lay single people, and members of religious communities. The Spirit wants to teach us how to spend our money, eat, talk, think, work, love, live, and die. Because the Holy Spirit wants to teach us so much, the proper relationship with Him is to be teachable, that is, docile. Most of the time the Spirit does not teach us directly but indirectly. He teaches us through people, such as parents, pastors, spouses, brothers, sisters, children, strangers, and even enemies. To be docile means to be able to learn from anyone through whom the Holy Spirit chooses to teach. For example, Cornelius, a powerful Roman centurion, was humbly submissive to the teaching of St. Peter, an uneducated Jewish fisherman (see Acts 10:25ff). The secretary of the treasury of the Ethiopian government asked the simple St. Philip to teach him from the Bible (Acts 8:27ff). Who do you consider to be the last person in the world to teach you anything? If the Spirit so chooses, are you willing to be taught by him or her? If so, you are docile and ready to receive the Holy Spirit. If not, you are in danger of rejecting the Holy Spirit. ///// PRAYER: Father, teach me about being teachable. ///// PROMISE: “Love, then, consists in this: not that we have loved God but that He has loved us and has sent His Son as an Offering for our sins.” —1 Jn 4:10 ///// PRAISE: King of all the ages, Your ways are perfect and true. Alleluia! ///// Reference: (For a related teaching on Arrogance, listen to, download or order our CD 52-1 or DVD 52 on our website.) /////// /////// (From a reflection by a member of the editorial team of the late Fr Al Lauer's Presentation Ministries) ///////

THIS MONTH'S POPE VIDEO... (click image below to see video)

IN UNION WITH THE POPE AND THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH - let us pray for the Pope's Intentions for this month of MAY ----- ------ ------- In his prayer intention this month, Pope Francis asks us to pray for men and women religious, and seminarians. “Every vocation,” he reminds us, “is like a ‘diamond in the rough’ that needs to be polished,” through a journey of ongoing growth. For “formation does not end at a certain moment, but continues throughout life.” The Pope Video, produced by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, helps us reflect on many aspects of his message – the importance of communitarian life, prayer, dedication to bearing witness to the Gospel, closeness to the lives of others. All these things are learned through an integral formation that begins “in the seminary and the novitiate, in direct contact with the lives of other people.” 🙏 Let us together pray “that men and women religious, and seminarians, grow in their own vocational journey through human, pastoral, spiritual and community formation.”