Thirty-second
Sunday in Ordinary Time
It-32 Ħadd matul is-Sena - Sena'B'
Messalin
B pp 509
1 Kings 17:10-16
In those days, Elijah the prophet went to Zarephath.As he
arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he
called out to her, "Please bring me a small cupful of water to
drink." She left to get it, and he called out after her, "Please
bring along a bit of bread." She answered, "As the LORD, your God,
lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a
little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in
and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall
die." Elijah said to her, "Do not be afraid. Go and do as you
propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can
prepare something for yourself and your son. For the LORD, the God of Israel,
says, 'The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until
the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" She left and did as
Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; the
jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had
foretold through Elijah.
L-Ewwel Qari
Qari
mill-Ewwel Kbtieb tas-Slaten 17,
10-16
F'dak iż-żmien, il-Profeta Elija qam u rħiela lejn
Sarefta. Kif wasal ħdejn il-bieb
tal-belt, kien hemm waħda armla tiġbor
il-ħatab. Elija sejħilha u qalilha:
"Jekk jogħġbok, ġibli f'bieqja belgħa ilma x'nixrob!" Hi u
sejra, Elija raġa' sejħilha u qalilha: "Ġibli wkoll, jekk jogħġbok, kisra
ħobż f'idejk!" Hija wieġbet:
"Daqskemm hu ħaj il-Mulej, Alla tiegħek. ma għandi xejn maħbuż; qabda dqiq f'ġarra u ftit żejt
fil-kus kulma baqagħli. Ara, qiegħda niġbor biċċtejn ħatab; issa nħejji xi ħaġa
għalija u għal ibni; u mbagħad nikluha u
mmutu." Elija wieġeb: "La
tibżax, mur u agħmel kif għidtli; imma
qabel agħmel ftira żgħira għalija, u
ġibhieli. Imbagħad agħmel għalik u għal ibnek. Għax din hi l-kelma tal-Mulej,
Alla ta' Israel
Responsorial Psalm
PSALM 146:7, 8-9, 9-10
R.
(1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free. R/
The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free. R/
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/
The fatherless and the widow he sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion,
through all generations. Alleluia. R/
Salm Responsorjali
Salm145 (146))
R/ Faħħar,
ruħ tiegħi, il Mulej.
Il-Mulej jagħmel ħaqq lill-maħqurin,
u jagħti
l-ħobż lill-imġewħin.
Il Mulej
jeħles lill-imjassrin. R/
Il-Mulej
jiftaħ għajnejn l-għomja.
Il-Mulej
jerfa' lill-milwijin,
Il-Mulej
iħobb lill-ġusti.
Il-Mulej
iħares lill-barranin. R/
Il-Mulej
iżomm lill-iltim u lill-armla,
imma
lill-ħżiena jħarbatilhom triqathom.
Il-Mulej
isaltan għal dejjem,
Alla
tiegħek, Sijon,minn
Hebrews 9:24-28
Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a
copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on
our behalf. Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest
enters each year into the sanctuary with blood that is not his own; if that
were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the
world. But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away
sin by his sacrifice. Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and
after this the judgment, so also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of
many, will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to
those who eagerly await him.
It-Tieni Qari
mill-Ittra
lill-Lhud 9, 24-28
Kristu ma daħalx f'santwarju magħmul b'idejn
il-bnedmin, li hu biss xhieda tas-santwarju veru, imma daħal fis-sema stess, biex issa jidher għalina
quddiem Alla. U daħal hemm mhux biex minn
Gospel
Mark 12:38-44
In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds, "Beware
of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the
marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They
devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext recite lengthy prayers. They will
receive a very severe condemnation." He sat down opposite the treasury and
observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in
large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few
cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to
you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the
treasury. For they have all contributed
from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she
had, her whole livelihood."
L-Evanġelju
Qari skond San Mark12, 38-44)
F'dak iż-żmien,
Ġesu' kien qiegħed jgħallem u jgħid: "Iftħu għajnejkom
mill-kittieba, li jħobbu jduru mat-toroq bi lbies twal, jixtiequ min
isellmilhom fil-pjazez, u fis-sinagogi joqogħdu
fis-siġġijiet ta' quddiem, u fil-postijiet ewlenin fil-pranzijiet;
iberbqu ġid ir-romol, u mbagħad għal
wiċċ in-nies idumu ħafna jitolbu. Dawn jieħdu kundanna akbar iebsa." Ġesu'
kien qiegħed biswit it-teżor, iħares u jara xi flus jitfgħu n-nies fit-teżor.
Bosta għonja bdew jitfgħu ħafna. Resqet waħda armla fqira u tefgħet biċċtejn
żgħar, jiġifieri xi żewġ ċenteżmi. Hu
sejjaħ id-dixxipli tiegħu u qalilhom:"Tassew ngħidilkom, li din l-armla
fqira tefgħet iktar minn
///////////////////////////////
A Mighty and Courageous Widow
A reflection by Fr. Thomas
Rosica, CSB
………………………………………………………………..
Just a mite
In Sunday’s well-known Gospel story (Mark 12:38-44),
Jesus praises the poor widow's offering, and makes it clear that the standard
measurement for assessing gifts is not how much we give to the works of God or
how much we put in the collection basket, but how much we have left for
ourselves. Those who give out of their abundance still have abundance left.
Is Jesus exalting this woman because she emptied her
bank account for the temple? Is Jesus romanticizing and idealizing the poor? I
have yet to meet people who dream of growing up destitute, poor, hungry and
homeless. I don't know anyone who delights in living from one government social
assistance check to the next, nor people who enjoy rummaging through garbage
bins and are proud that they cannot afford to pay for electric and water bills
for their inadequate and even dangerous housing situations during cold Canadian
winters.
The woman in Sunday's provocative Gospel story was poor
because she was a widow. She was completely dependent on her male relatives for
her livelihood. To be widowed meant not only losing a spouse, but more
tragically, losing the one on whom you were totally dependent. Widows were
forced to live off of the generosity of other male relatives and anyone in the
community who might provide for one's needs.
The two coins in the woman's hand were most likely all
she had. When one has so little, a penny or two isn't going to move that person
from complete social assistance to employment. With the coins or without them,
the widow was still a dependent person. She had no status in life. She was
totally dependent on the grace of God, yet she was indeed rich in God's mercy.
Jesus never condemns the rich but simply says that they
will find it difficult to enter the kingdom. What matters is not how much money
is stored in bank accounts or kept in stocks and bonds, but rather for what
that money is destined.
Will the money be used to assist others, to make the
world a better place? Will be it used to feed the hungry, clothe the naked,
provide for the homeless and destitute poor? Will it be used to build a culture
of life? Do our lives revolve around the money or are we dependant on God who
truly makes us rich? Do we behave as owners or live as stewards?
The widow tossed her only signs of independence into
the collection basket, but she maintained her complete dependence on God and
neighbor. Her example of faith is grounded in the love of God: her love for God
and God's love for her. She was a steward and not an owner of her meager
possessions. This poor widow teaches us that dependence, far from being
oppressive and depressive, can really lead to a life lived in deep joy and
profound gratitude.
Charity in truth
Four brief sections from Benedict XVI's encyclical
letter "Caritas in Veritate" merit our careful reflection and
meditation this week.
1. "The search for love and truth is purified and
liberated by Jesus Christ from the impoverishment that our humanity brings to
it, and he reveals to us in all its fullness the initiative of love and the
plan for true life that God has prepared for us. In Christ, charity in truth
becomes the Face of his Person, a vocation for us to love our brothers and
sisters in the truth of his plan. Indeed, he himself is the Truth (cf. John
14:6)."
23. "The mere fact of emerging from economic
backwardness, though positive in itself, does not resolve the complex issues of
human advancement, neither for the countries that are spearheading such
progress, nor for those that are already economically developed, nor even for
those that are still poor, which can suffer not just through old forms of
exploitation, but also from the negative consequences of a growth that is
marked by irregularities and imbalances."
42. "For a long time it was thought that poor
peoples should remain at a fixed stage of development, and should be content to
receive assistance from the philanthropy of developed peoples. Paul VI strongly
opposed this mentality in 'Populorum Progressio.'
"Today the material resources available for
rescuing these peoples from poverty are potentially greater than before, but
they have ended up largely in the hands of people from developed countries, who
have benefited more from the liberalization that has occurred in the mobility of
capital and labor. The world-wide diffusion of forms of prosperity should not
therefore be held up by projects that are self-centered, protectionist or at
the service of private interests."
75. "While the poor of the world continue knocking
on the doors of the rich, the world of affluence runs the risk of no longer
hearing those knocks, on account of a conscience that can no longer distinguish
what is human. God reveals man to himself; reason and faith work hand in hand
to demonstrate to us what is good, provided we want to see it; the natural law,
in which creative Reason shines forth, reveals our greatness, but also our
wretchedness insofar as we fail to recognize the call to moral truth."
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
No comments:
Post a Comment