34th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Solennita’ ta’ Sidna Ġesu’Kristu Sultan tal-Ħolqien Kollu
L-Erbgħa u Tletin Ħadd matul is-Sena
Missalin A p 426
Ez 34:11-12, 15-17
Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend
my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his
scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place
where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will
give them rest, says the Lord GOD. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will
bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, but the sleek and
the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly. As for you, my sheep, says
the Lord GOD, I will judge between one sheep and another, between rams and
goats. This is the Word of the Lord.
L-Ewwel
Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Eżekjel 34, 11-12,
15-17
Dan jgħid Sidi l-Mulej:
"Arawni, hekk jien se nfittex in-nagħaġ tiegħi u nieħu ħsiebhom. Bħalma r-ragħaj jaħseb fil-merħla tiegħu meta jsib ruħu
f'nofs in-nagħaġ mxerrda tiegħu,
hekk naħseb jien fin-nagħaġ tiegħi, u nsalavhom minn kull fejn xterdu fi żmien is-sħab u s-swied ta'
l-ajru. Jiena stess nirgħa n-nagħaġ tiegħi, u jiena nserraħom. Oraklu
ta' Sidi l-Mulej. Jiena nfittex il-mitlufa,
irreġġa' lura l-imxerrda, ninfaxxa l-ġrieħi tal-miġrugħa, u nqawwi l-marida. Inħares
is-smina u l-qawwija, u nirgħhom bil-ġustizzja. Imma għalik,
merħla tiegħi, hekk jgħid
Sidi l-Mulej: Ara, jiena nagħmel ħaqq bejn nagħġa
u nagħġa, bejn imtaten u
bdabad. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm PsALM
23:1-2, 2-3, 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. R.
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake. 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. R/
Ħdejn l-ilma, fejn
nistrieħ, jeħodni;
hemm hu jrejjaqni.
Imexxini fit-triq tas-sewwa
minħabba l-isem tiegħu. R/
Int tħejji mejda għalija
quddiem l-għedewwa tiegħi.
Iż-żejt tidlikli rasi,
u l-kalċi tiegħi tfawwarli. R/
Miegħi, iva, jimxu t-tjieba u l-ħniena
il-jiem kollha ta' ħajti.
U ngħammar f'dar il-Mulej
Sakemm indum ħaj! R/
Reading 2
1
CorINTHIANS 15:20-26, 28
Brothers and sisters: Christ has been raised from the
dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came
through man, the resurrection of the dead came also through man. For just as in
Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ the
first fruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ;then comes the
end, when he hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has
destroyed every sovereignty and every authority and power. For he must reign
until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed
is death. When everything is subjected to him,then the Son himself will also be
subjectedto the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in
all. This is the Word of the Lord.
It-Tieni
Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ewwel Ittra lill-Korintin 15, 20-26,28
Ħuti, Kristu kien imqajjem tassew
mill-imwiet, l-ewwel fost dawk li raqdu.
Għaliex, jekk permezz ta' bniedem feġġet il-mewt, bi bniedem ukoll iseħh il-qawmien
mill-imwiet. Għax bħalma il-bnedmin kollha jmutu f'Adam, hekk ukoll jiksbu l-ħajja fi Kristu. Imma kulħadd
skond kif imissu: jibda l-ewwel
frott li hu Kristu, wara, dawk li huma a' Kristu, f'jum il-miġja tiegħu. Imbagħad it-tmiem, meta Kristu jerħi s-saltna f'idejn Alla
l-Missieri, wara li jkun qered kull ħakma
u kull setgħa u kull qawwa. Għax
jeħtieġ li hu jsaltan sa ma jqiegħed
l-għedewwa kollha taħt riġlejh. L-aħħar għadu li jinqered tkun il-Mewt. U meta kollox ikun imqiegħed taħtu, imbagħad l-Iben stess
jitqiegħed taħt Dak li jkun qegħedlu
kollox taħtu, sabiex Alla ikun
kollox f'kollox. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel
Matthew
25:31-46
Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Son of Man
comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious
throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate
them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He
will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will
say to those on his right,'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and
you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you
welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and
you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we
see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you
a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or
in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply,'Amen, I say
to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for
me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into
the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and
you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you
gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for
me.' Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your
needs?' He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one
of these least ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go off to eternal
punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
L-Evanġelju
Qari skond San Mattew 25, 31-46
F'dak iż-żmien,
Ġesu'
qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: "Meta jiġi Bin il-bniedem
fil-glorja tiegħu u bl-anġli kollha miegħu,
imbagħad
joqgħod
fuq it-tron glorjuż tiegħu. U quddiemu
jinġabru
l-ġnus
kollha, u hu jifridhom minn xulxin, bħalma r-raħaj
jifred in-nagħaġ mill-mogħoż: in-nagħag iqegħedhom
fuq il-lemin u l-mogħoż fuq ix-xellug. Imbagħad is-Sultan jgħid
lil dawk ta' fuq il-lemin tiegħu: "Ejjew,
imberkin minn Missieri, ħudu b'wirt tagħkom is-Saltna li tħejjiet għalikom
sa mill-ħolqien tad-dinja.
Għax jien kont bil-ġuħ
u tmajtuni, kont bil-għatx u sqejtuni, kont barrani u lqajtuni, kont għeri u libbistuni, kont
marid u ġejtu tarawni, kont fil-ħabs u ġejtu
żżuruni."
Imbagħad
iweġbuh
il-ġusti: "Mulej, meta rajniek bil-ġuħ
u tmajniek, jew bil-għatx u sqejniek?
Meta rajniek
barrani u lqajniek, jew għeri u libbisniek?
Meta rajniek marid, jew fil-ħabs
u ġejt nżuruk?" U s-Sultan iweġibhom u jgħid:
"Tassew, ngħidilkom, kull ma għamiltu ma' wieħed mill-iżgħar fost dawn ħuti,
għamiltuh miegħi." Imbagħad jgħid ukoll lil dawk ta'
fuq ix-xellug: "Morru minn quddiemi, misħutin, fin-nar ta' dejjem li tħejja għax-xitan u għall-anġli tiegħu. Għax jien kont bil-ġuħ u ma tmajtunix, kont
bil-għatx u ma sqejtunix, kont barrani u ma
lqajtuniex, kont għeri u ma libbistuniex, kont marid u fil-ħabs u ma ġejtux
iżżuruni!" Imbagħad huma wkoll iweġbuh:
"Mulej, meta rajniek bil-ġuħ, jew bil-għatx,
jew barrani, jew għeri, jew marid, jew fil-ħabs, u aħna ma waqafniex miegħek? Iiweġibhom imbagħad u jgħidilhom: "Tassew, Ngħidilkom, dak li ma għamiltux ma' wieħed minn dawk iż-żgħar, anqas miegħi ma għamiltuh." U dawn
imorru fit-tbatija ta' dejjem u l-ġusti
fil-ħajja ta' dejjem." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
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Gospel Commentary for This Sunday
Jesus Christ,
King of the Universe
and
of Hearts
By Father Raniero
Cantalamessa, OFM Cap
The annual solemnity
of Christ the King that brings to a close our liturgical year, was instituted
only recently. It was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in response to the
atheist and totalitarian political regimes that denied the rights of God and
the Church. The climate in which the feast was born was, for example, that of
the Mexican revolution, when many Christians went to their deaths crying out to
their last breath, Long live Christ the King!
But if the feast is recent, its content and its central idea
are not; they are quite ancient and we can say that they were born with
Christianity. The phrase “Christ
reigns” has its equivalent in the profession
of faith: “Jesus is Lord,”
which occupies a central place in the preaching of the apostles.
Sunday’s
Gospel passage narrates the death of Christ, because it is at that moment that
Christ begins to rule over the world. The cross is Christ’s throne. “Above
him there was an inscription that read, ‘This
is the King of the Jews.’”
That which in the intention of his enemies was the justification of his
condemnation, was, in the eyes of the heavenly Father, the proclamation of his
universal sovereignty.
To see what this feast has to do with us, we need only
recall to our minds a very simple distinction. There are two universes, two
worlds or cosmoses: the “macrocosm,” which is the whole universe external to us, and the “microcosm,”
or the little universe, which is each individual man. The liturgy itself, in
the reform that followed Vatican II, felt the need to accent the human and
spiritual aspect of the feast over the, so to speak, political aspect of the
feast. The prayer of the feast no longer asks, as it once did, “that all the families of nations, now kept apart by the
wound of sin, may be brought under the sweet yoke of [Christ’s] rule”
but that “every creature, freed from the slavery
of sin, serve and praise [Christ] forever.”
Let us consider again the inscription placed above Christ: “This is the King of the Jews.”
The onlookers challenged him to manifest his royalty openly and many, even
among his friends, expected a spectacular demonstration of his kingship. But he
chose only to show his kingship in his solicitousness for one man, who was, in
fact, a criminal: “‘Jesus, remember me when you come into
your kingdom.’ He replied to him, ‘Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.'”
From this point of view, the most important question to ask
on the feast of Christ the King is not whether he reigns in the world but
whether he reigns in me; it is not whether his kingship is recognized by states
and governments, but whether it is recognized and lived in me.
Is Christ the King and Lord of my life? Who rules in me, who
determines the goals and establishes priorities: Christ or someone else?
According to St. Paul, there are two ways to live: either for ourselves or for
the Lord (Romans 14:7-9). Living “for
ourselves” means living like someone who takes
himself to be the beginning and the end; it is a life closed in on itself,
drawn only by its own satisfaction and glory, without any perspective of
eternity. Living “for the Lord,”
on the contrary, means living for the Lord, that is, with a view to him, for
his glory, for his kingdom.
What we have here is truly a new existence, in the face of
which, death itself has lost its definitiveness. The greatest contradiction
that man has always experienced —
that between life and death —
has been overcome. The contradiction is no longer between “living”
and “dying”
but between living “for ourselves”
and living “for the Lord.”
[Translation by ZENIT]
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