Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Poor in
Spirit
Ir-Raba' Ħadd
matul is-Sena
Il-fqar fl-Ispirtu
Messalin A pp 266
Seek
the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice,
seek humility; perhaps you may be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger. But
I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall
take refuge in the name of the LORD: the remnant of Israel
L-Ewwel
Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ktieb
tal-Profeta Sofonija 2, 3; 3,12-13
Fittxu lill-Mulej ilkoll, intom,
l-umli ta' l-art, li tagħmlu ordnijietu, fittxu l-ġustizzja,
fittxu l-umilta'; biex forsi f'jum il-korla tal-Muel
ikollkom fejn tiskennu. U nħalli f'nofsok poplu umli u
mċekken. U f'isem il-Mulej ifttxu l-kenn dawk li jifdal minn Iżrael. Ma
jagħmlux ħażen, ma jgħidux kliem b'ieħor, u lsien qarrieq ma jibqax iżjed f'fommhom, hekk li joqogħdu jirgħu u jistrieħu bla ma jbeżżagħhom ħadd. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm
The
LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
.
The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
.
The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
SAlm 145(146)
Il-Mulej jagħmel ħaqq mill-maħqurin,
u jagħti l-ħobż
lill-imġewħin.
Il-Mulej jeħles lill-injassrin. R/
R/ Ħenjin il-foqra
fl-ispirtu.
Il-Mulej jiftaħ għajnejn l-għomja;
il-Mulej jerfa' lill-milwijin,
il-Mulej iħobb lill-ġusti;
il-Mulej iħares lill-barranin. R/
R/ Ħenjin il-foqra
fl-ispirtu.
Hu iżomm lill-iltim u lill-armla,
imma lill-ħżiena jħarbtilhom triqathom.
Il-Mulej isaltan għal
dejjem;
Alla tiegħek, Sijon, minn nisel għal nisel. R/
R/ Ħenjin il-foqra
fl-ispirtu.
Consider
your own calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were wise by human
standards,
not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.” This is the Word of The Lord.
not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.” This is the Word of The Lord.
Qari mill-Ewwel
l-Ittra ta' San Pawl Appostlu lill-Korintin 1, 26-31
Ħuti,
qisu s-sejħa
tagħkom: għax m'humiex ħafna
fostkom li huma għorrief
skond il-qjiesi tad-dinja; m'humiex ħafna s-setgħana,
m'humiex ħafna n-nobbli. Imma Alla għażel in-nies boloh għad-dinja
biex iħawwad l-għorrief; għażel id-dgħajfa
tad-dinja biex iħawwad
il-qawwija; għażel il-mistmerra mid-dinja, u n-nies li ma huma xejn, biex
iġib fix-xejn lil dawk li huma xi ħaġa. Hekk ebda bniedem ma jkun
jista' jiftaħar quddiem Alla. Minnu li intom tinsabu fi Kristu Ġesu'
li sar għalina l-għerf mingħand Alla, ġustizzja,
qdusija u fidwa, biex bħalma hu miktub, min jiftaħar, ħa
jiftaħar fil-Mulej. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel
When
Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the
mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to
teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are
the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and
thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see
God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed
are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and
utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be
glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” This is the Word of The Lord.
L-Evanġelju
Qari mill-Evanġelju skond San Mattew 5, 1-12a
F'dak iż-żmien, kif ra l-folol, Ġesu'
tala' fuq il-Muntanja, qagħad bilqiegħda, u resqu lejh id-dixxipli tiegħu. Fetaħ fommu u qabad
jgħallimhom u jgħid: "Ħenjin il-foqra fl-ispirtu, għax tagħhom hija s-Saltna tas-Smewwiet. Ħenjin
l-imnikkta, għax huma jkunu mfarrġa. Ħenjin ta' qalbhom ħelwa, għax huma jkollhom b'wirthom l-art. Ħenjin
dawk li huma bil-ġuħ u
bl-għatx
tal-ġustizzja,
għax
huma jkunu mxebbgħin.
Ħenjin dawk li
jħennu,
Għax
huma jsibu ħniena.
Ħenjin
dawk li huma safja f'qalbhom, għax
huma jaraw lil Alla, Ħenjin dawk li jġibu l-paċi, għax
huma jissejħu
wlied Alla. Ħenjin
dawk li huma pperwsegwitati minħabba u s-sewwa, għax tagħhom hija s-Saltna
tas-Smewwiet. Ħenjin
intom, meta jgħajrukom
u jippersegwitakom u jaqilgħu
kull xorta ta' ħażen
u gideb kontra tagħkom
minħabba fija. Ifirħu u thennew, għax ħlaskom kbir fis-smewwiet. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
Charter for Christian Living and Recipe
for Extreme Holiness –
A Biblical
Reflection by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB
As the Church continues her pilgrim journey throughout
history, we need a vision to sustain us and give us hope in the midst of our
shadows, ambiguities and sins, our joys and hopes and victories. That
biblical vision is found in the great Christian charter in next Sunday's Gospel
passage. This Gospel often called “the Sermon on the Mount” [Mt 5:1-12a]
is the first of the five discourses [5:1-7:29] that are a central part of the
structure of Matthew’s Gospel. The Lucan parallel is the "Sermon on
the Plain" [Luke 6:20-49], although some of the sayings in Matthew's
"Sermon on the Mount" have their parallels in other parts of Luke.
The careful topical
arrangement of the sermon is probably not due only to Matthew's editing; he
seems to have had a structured discourse of Jesus as one of his sources. The
form of that source may have been as follows: four beatitudes [Matthew 5:3-4,
6, 11-12], a section on the new righteousness with illustrations [5:17, 20-24,
27-28, 33-48], a section on good works, [6:1-6, 16-18], and three warnings
[7:1-2, 15-21, 24-27]. Unlike Luke's sermon, Matthew’s text is addressed
not only to the disciples but to the crowds.
The formulation “Blessed are (is)” used in this Sunday’s
Gospel passage occurs frequently in the Old Testament in the Wisdom literature
and in the psalms. Although modified by Matthew, the first, second, fourth, and
ninth beatitudes have Lucan parallels (Matthew 5:3; Luke 6:20; Matthew 5:4;
Luke 6:21, 22; Matthew 5:6; Luke 6:21a; Matthew 5:11-12; Luke 5:22-23). The
others were added by the evangelist and are probably his own composition.
The meaning of the
beatitudes
The beatitudes are the great charter for Christian
living. They reveal God's ultimate justice and outline Jesus' prophetic
outreach to those who live on the fringes of society. So many people– the
sick, the lame, the poor and the hungry converge on Jesus on that Galilean
hillside. In this awesome biblical scene overlooking the Sea, Jesus puts
biblical justice into practice by proclaiming the beatitudes. Authentic
justice is a bonding of one's self with the sick, the disabled, the poor and
the hungry. The crowds that listened to Jesus were awestruck because he
spoke with authority, with the force of someone who knew the truth and offered
it freely to others. He was a teacher like no other.
While Sunday’s Gospel is undoubtedly one of the favourite
texts for all types of liturgical celebrations, how many people really grasp
the radicality of what is being stated or realize that the beatitudes are not
simply a lovely introduction to the sermon on the mount but actually the
foundation of Jesus’ entire teaching? We are often at a loss to
understand and explain the meaning of the beatitudes beyond the fact that they
are words of solidarity, compassion and blessing. The Aramaic language of
Jesus may help us to understand Jesus' teachings in a deeper way.
“Blessed” is the translation of the word “makarioi”
used in the Greek New Testament. If we look further back to Jesus'
Aramaic language and vocabulary, we discover that the original word was “ashray,” from the verb “yashar.” “Ashray” does not have
this passive quality. Instead, it means "to set yourself on the
right way for the right goal; to turn around, repent; to become straight or
righteous."
When we understand Jesus' words in the Aramaic, we may
translate the beatitudes like this: "Get up, go ahead, do something, move,
you who are hungry and thirsty for justice; you who desire peace." This
reflects Jesus' words and teachings more accurately. We hear him saying to us:
Get up, stop complaining, do something about the homeless, about the poor,
about the discouraged and disillusioned people around you. "Get up, go
ahead, do something, move," Jesus says to his disciples and to us. In this
way the beatitudes reveal God's ultimate justice and solidarity with the human
condition.
We must hold up the beatitudes as a mirror in which we
examine our own lives and consciences. "Am I poor in spirit? Am I
humble and merciful? Am I pure of heart? Do I bring peace? Am I 'blessed,' in
other words, happy? Jesus not only gives us what he has, but also what he
is. He is holy and makes us holy.
Blueprint for
Holiness
The beatitudes are also a recipe for extreme holiness.
Holiness is a way of life that involves commitment and activity. It is
not a passive endeavor but rather a continuous choice to deepen one's
relationship with God and to then allow this relationship to guide all of one's
actions in the world.
Men and women of the
beatitudes
The beatitudes were lived out in the life of John Paul
II. He himself was an extraordinary witness who, through his devotion,
heroic efforts, long suffering and death, communicated the powerful message of
the Gospel to the men and women of our day. A great part of the success
of the Pope’s message is due to the fact that he has been surrounded by a
tremendous cloud of witnesses who stood by him and strengthened him throughout
his life. In the nearly 27 years of his pontificate, he gave the Church 1338 Blesseds
and 482 Saints.
On April 2, 2005, he died a public, global death that stopped
the world for several days. On April 8, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger told the
world that the Holy Father was watching and
blessing us ‘from the window of the Father’s House.” On Sunday May 1,
2011 only six years after his return to the Father’s house, the Church formally
confirmed what many of us have known for so long: not simply “Santo Subito”
(“Make him a saint quickly”) but “Santo Sempre” (Saint always). May we
learn from "Papa Wojtyla" how to cross thresholds, open doors, build
bridges and proclaim the Gospel to the people of our time. May we become men
and women of the beatitudes and beg for a small portion of the fidelity of
Peter's witness and the boldness of Paul's proclamation that were so mightily
present in Karol Wojtyla -- Pope John Paul II.
