The 31st Sunday
during Year B
Il-31 Ħadd ta' Matul
is-Sena - Sena 'B'
Messalin 'B' pp 503
Deuteronomy 6:2-6
Moses spoke to the people, saying: "Fear the LORD,
your God, and keep, throughout the days of your lives, all his statutes and
commandments which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life. Hear then, Israel Israel
L-Ewwel Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ktieb tad-Dewteronomju 6, 2-6
Mose'
kellem lill-poplu u qal: "Ibża'
millMulej, Alla tiegħek, billi int, ibnek u bin ibnek, tħarsu dejjem
il-liġijiet u l-kmandamenti kollha tiegħu, li jien qiegħed nagħtik, biex
ikollok għomor twil. Isma', o Iżrael,
u ħu ħsieb agħmilhom, biex ikollok il-ġid u toktor
ħafna, bħalma wiegħed il-Mulej, Alla ta' misssierijietkom, li jagħtik art tnixxi ħalib u għasel. Isma',
o Iżrael: Alla tagħna l-Mulej, il-Mulej
waħdu. Ħo, mela, lill-Mulej, Alla tiegħek, b'qalbek kollha u b'saħhtek kollha. Żomm f'qalbek dan il-kliem u dawn il-kmandamenti
li qiegħed nagħtik illum." Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
Responsorial Psalm
PSALM 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
R. (2) I love you,
Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. R/
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer. R/
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies. R/
The LORD lives! And blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed. R/
Salm Responsorjali
Salm 17
R/ Inħobbok, Mulej, qawwa tiegħi!
Inħobbok,
Mulej, qawwa tiegħi!
Il-Mulej
blata tiegħi,
fortizza
u ħellies tiegħi! R/
Alla
tiegħi, sur tal-kenn tiegħi u tarka tiegħi,
qawwa
tas-salvazzjoni tiegħi, u kenn tiegħi!
Insejjaħ
il-Mulej, li hu ta' min ifaħhru,
u
nkun meħlus mill-għedewwa tiegħi. R/
Ħaj
il-Mulej! Imbierek hu, il-blata tiegħi!
Ikun
imfahhar Alla tas-salvazzjoni tiegħi!
Hu
jkabbar ir-rebħ lis-sultan tiegħu,
juri
mħabbtu mal-midluk tiegħu. R/
Hebrews 7:23-28
Brothers and sisters: The levitical priests were many because
they were prevented by death from remaining in office, but Jesus, because he
remains forever, has a priesthood that does not pass away. Therefore, he is
always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever
to make intercession for them. It was fitting that we should have such a high
priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer
sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the
people; he did that once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints
men subject to weakness to be high priests, but the word of the oath, which was
taken after the law, appoints a son, who
has been made perfect forever. This is
the Word of the Lord.
It-Tieni Lezzjoni
Qari mill-Ittra lill-Lhud 7, 23-28
Ħuti,
dawk tal-imgħoddi kien u jsiru qassisin
f'għadd kbir, għax minħabba fil-mewt ma kinux jistgħu jibqgħu għal dejjem.Imma
Ġesu', billi jibqa' għal dejjem, għandu saċerdożju li ma jintemm qatt. Għalhekk ukoll huwa jista' jsalva
għalkollox 'il dawk li bih jersqu lejn
Alla, ladarba hu jibqa' għal dejjem ħaj
biex jidħol għalihom. Dan hu, tabilħaqq, il-qassis il-kbiri li kien jgħodd
għalina: qaddis, innoċenti, safi
Gospel
Mark 12:28b-34
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which
is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is
this: Hear, O Israel kingdom of God
Evangelju
Qari skont San Mark 12, 28b-34
F'dak
iż-żmien, wieħed mill-kittieba resaq fuq Ġesu' u staqsieħ: "Liema wieħed
fost il-kmandamenti kollha huwa l-ewwel?" Ġesu' wieġbu: "L-ewwel wieħed huwa dan: Isma' Iżrael!
Il-Mulej, Alla tagħna, Mulej wieħedhu, u int għandek tħobb lill-Mulej,
Alla tiegħek, b'qalbek kollha, b'ruħek kollha, b'moħħom kollu, u bil-qawwa
tiegħek kollha. U t-tieni hu dan: "Ħobb lil għajrek bħalek innifsek. Ma hemmx kmandament ieħor akbar minn minn
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Our Priorities
Here is a translation of a commentary by the
Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, on the
readings from this Sunday’s liturgy.
One day one of the scribes came to Jesus asking him which was the first
commandment of the law and Jesus answered, citing the words of the law: “Hear,
O Israel, the Lord your God is one God. And you shall love the Lord your God,
with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind, and
with your whole strength.” But Jesus immediately added that there is a second
commandment similar to this, and it is to “love your neighbour as yourself.”
If we are to understand the meaning of the scribe’s question and Jesus’
response, we need to bear in mind the following. In the Judaism of Jesus’ time
there were two opposite tendencies.
On the one hand there was a tendency to endlessly multiply the
commandments and precepts of the law, creating norms and obligations for every
minimal detail of life. On the other hand there was the desire to look
underneath this suffocating congeries of norms to find those things that really
count for God, the spirit of all the commandments.
The scribe’s question and Jesus’ response are situated in this approach
to the essentials of the law, in this desire not to get lost in the thousand
other secondary precepts. It is precisely this lesson about method that above
all we must learn from today’s gospel. There are things in life that are
important but not urgent (in the sense that nothing will happen if we let them
slide); and vice versa, there are things that are urgent but not important. The
danger is that we will systematically sacrifice the important things to pursue
those that are urgent but often secondary.
How do we avoid this danger? A story will help us understand how. One
day an old professor was asked to speak as an expert to some large North
American corporations on personal time management. He decided to try an
experiment. Standing before a group ready to take notes, he pulled out from
under the table a large, empty glass vase. He placed a dozen tennis-ball-size
rocks in the vase until it was full. When he was not able to add more rocks he
asked those present: “Does the vase seem full to you?” and they all answered
“Yes!” He waited a moment and then asked: “Are you sure?”
He again bent down and pulled a box full of pebbles from under the table
and carefully poured the pebbles into the vase, moving the vase a little so
that the pebbles could reach the rocks at the very bottom. He asked: “Is the
vase full this time?”
His audience, having become more prudent, began to understand and said:
“Perhaps not yet.” “Very good!” the old professor replied. Again he bent down
and this time picked up a bag of sand and poured it into the vase with care.
The sand filled all the spaces between the rocks and the pebbles.
He then asked again: “Is the vase full now?” And they all answered
without hesitation: “No!” “Indeed,” the old professor said and, as they
expected, took the pitcher of water from the table and poured it into the vase
up to the brim.
At this point he looked up at his audience and asked: “What great truth
does this experiment show us?” The bravest of the group, reflecting on the
theme of the course — time management — replied: “This shows us that even when
our schedule is full, with a little effort we can always add some other task,
some other thing to do.”
“No,” the professor answered, “It’s not that. The experiment shows us
something else. If you don’t put the big rocks in the vase first, then you will
never be able to put them in afterward.”
There was a moment of silence and everyone took in the evidence for this
affirmation.
The professor continued: “What are the big rocks, the priorities, in
your life? Health? Family? Friends? Defending a cause? Accomplishing something
that is close to your heart?
“The important thing is to put these big rocks on your agenda first. If
you give priority to a thousand other little things — the pebbles, the sand —
your life will be filled with meaninglessness and you will never find time to
dedicate yourself to the truly important things.
“So, never forget to pose this question to yourself: ‘What are the
important things in my life?’ Put these things at the head of your agenda.”
Then, with a friendly gesture the old professor bid farewell to his
audience and left the room.
To the “big rocks” mentioned by the professor — health, family, friends
— we need to add two others, which are the biggest of all, the two greatest
commandments: love God and your neighbor.
Truly, loving God, more than a commandment, is a privilege, a
concession. If one day we find him, we will not cease to thank God for
commanding us to love him and we will not desire to do anything else but
cultivate this love.
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