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Sunday, November 24 ,2019 <<
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King
of the Universe
Lectionary: 162
Sidna Ġesù Kristu
Sultan tal-Ħolqien Kollu - Solennità
Reading 1
-- 2 Samuel 5:1-3
In those days, all the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron
and said:"Here we are, your bone and your flesh. In days past, when Saul
was our king, it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back. And
the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be
commander of Israel.'" When all the elders of Israel came to David in
Hebron, King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD, and they
anointed him king of Israel.
Qari I
-- mit-Tieni Ktieb ta’ Samwel 5, 1-3
F’dak iż-żmien, it-tribujiet kollha ta’ Iżrael ġew għand David
f’Ħebron u qalulu: “Arana, għadmek u laħmek aħna! Fl-imgħoddi, meta Sawl kien
sultan fuqna, kont int li kont toħroġ lil Iżrael għall-gwerra u ġġibhom lura, u
l-Mulej qallek: “Int għad tirgħa l-poplu tiegħi u tkun prinċep fuq Iżrael”. U
x-xjuħ kollha ta’ Iżrael ġew għand is-Sultan f’Ħebron u s-sultan David għamel
patt magħhom f’Ħebron quddiem il-Mulej; u lil David dilkuh sultan fuq Iżrael. Il-Kelma
tal-Mulej
Responsorial Psalm -- Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5
I rejoiced because they said to me,"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Salm Responsorjali --
Salm 121 (122), 1-2.4-5
R/. (ara 1): Sejrin ferħana f’dar il-Mulej
Fraħt meta qaluli:“Sejrin f’dar il-Mulej!”
Diġà qegħdin riġlejna fi bwiebek, Ġerusalemm! R/.
Ġerusalemm, mibnija bħal belt, magħquda ħaġa waħda.
Lejha t-tribujiet jitilgħu,it-tribujiet tal-Mulej. R/.
Biex, skont il-liġi ta’ Iżrael, ifaħħru isem il-Mulej.
Għax hemm twaqqfu t-tronijiet tal-ħaqq,it-tronijiet tad-dar ta’ David. R/.
Reading 2
-- Colossians 1:12-20
Brothers and sisters: Let us give thanks to the Father, who has
made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light. He delivered us from the power of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have
redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on
earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He
is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of
the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in
all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness was
pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace
by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in
heaven.
Qari II
-- mill-Ittra lill-Kolossin 1, 12-20
Ħuti, roddu ħajr lill-Missier, li għamilkom denji li tissieħbu
fil-wirt tal-qaddisin fis-saltna tad-dawl. Hu ħelisna mill-ħakma tad-dlam, u
daħħalna fis-saltna ta’ Ibnu l-maħbub, li bih għandna l-fidwa, il-maħfra
tad-dnubiet. Hu x-xbieha ta’ Alla li ma jidhirx, il-kbir fost il-ħlejjaq
kollha; għax fih kien maħluq kollox, fis-sema u fl-art, dak kollu li jidher u
dak kollu li ma jidhirx, Troni u Ħakmiet, Prinċipati u Setgħat. Kollox bih u
għalih kien maħluq, hu li hu qabel kollox, u kollox fih qiegħed iżomm. Hu r-Ras
tal-Ġisem, li hu l-Knisja. Hu li hu l-bidu, il-kbir li qam mill-imwiet, sabiex
ikun hu l-ewwel f’kollox. Hekk Alla għoġbu li tgħammar fih il-milja kollha; bih
Alla għoġbu jerġa’ jħabbeb kollox miegħu; bid-demm tiegħu, imxerred fuq
is-salib, ġieb is-sliem permezz tiegħu fis-sema u fl-art. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel -- Luke 23:35-43
The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, "He saved others, let
him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God." Even the soldiers
jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out, "If
you are King of the Jews, save yourself." Above him there was an
inscription that read, "This is the King of the Jews." Now one of the
criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,
"Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly,for the sentence we received
corresponds to our crimes,but this man has done nothing criminal."Then he
said, "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."
Evanġelju
F’dak iż-żmien, wara li sallbu lil Ġesù, il-poplu waqaf hemm
iħares, waqt li l-kapijiet bdew jiddieħku b’Ġesù u jgħidu: “Salva lil oħrajn;
ħa jsalva lilu nnifsu jekk dan hu l-Messija, il-Maħtur ta’ Alla!”. Is-suldati
wkoll bdew jgħadduh biż-żmien; u resqu lejh, newlulu nbid qares u qalulu: “Jekk
inti s-sultan tal-Lhud salva lilek innifsek”. Fuq rasu kien hemm ukoll kitba li
kienet tgħid: “Dan huwa s-sultan tal-Lhud”. Wieħed mill-ħatjin li kienu
msallbin miegħu beda jgħajru u jgħidlu: “Int m’intix il-Messija? Salva lilek
innifsek u lilna!”. Imma qabeż l-ieħor, ċanfru u qallu: “Anqas minn Alla int ma
tibża’, int li qiegħed taħt l-istess kundanna? Tagħna hija ġusta, tassew, għax
qegħdin nieħdu li ħaqqna ta’ kulma għamilna; imma dan ma għamel xejn ħażin”.
Imbagħad qal: “Ġesù, ftakar fija meta tidħol fis-Saltna tiegħek”. U Ġesù
wieġbu: “Tassew ngħidlek, illum tkun fil-Ġenna miegħi”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
/////////////////////
Jesus Christ, King of the Universe and of
Hearts
Gospel Commentary for this Sunday by Father Raniero Cantalamessa,
OFM Cap, the Pontifical Household preacher.
The solemnity of Christ the King 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
from the Italian by ZENIT] ///////////////////
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