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Sunday, January 26 2020
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 67
It-Tielet Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena
Reading
1 Is 8:23—9:3
First the Lord degraded
the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the end he has glorified
the seaward road, the land west of the Jordan, the District of the Gentiles. Anguish
has taken wing, dispelled is darkness: for there is no gloom where but now
there was distress. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon
those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them
abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,
as people make merry when dividing spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the
pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on
the day of Midian.
Qari
I mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija Is
8. 23b - 9, 3
Alla bħalma qabel
fl-imgħoddi kien mela bl-għajb l-art ta’ Żebulun u l-art ta’ Naftali, hekk issa
fl-aħħar isebbaħ it-triq tal-baħar ’l hemm mill-Ġordan, il-Galilija tal-ġnus.
Il-poplu li kien miexi fid-dlam ra dawl kbir; in-nies li joqogħdu f’art id-dlam
dawl idda fuqhom. Int kattart il-ġens, kabbart l-hena; huma ferħu quddiemek,
bħalma jifirħu fi żmien il-ħsad, bħalma jifirħu fi qsim il-priża. Għax
il-madmad li kien itaqqlu, u l-ħatar ta’ fuq spallejh, u l-bastun tal-argużin,
int kissirthom bħal f’jum Midjan. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Responsorial
Psalm PSALM 27:1, 4, 13-14
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my
salvation.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the
LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my
salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of
the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my
salvation.
Salm
Responsorjali Salm 26 (27)
1.4.13-14
R/. (1a): Il-Mulej
id-dawl u s-salvazzjoni tiegħi
Il-Mulej id-dawl u
s-salvazzjoni tiegħi;
minn min għandi nibża’?
Il-Mulej hu l-kenn
tiegħi;
quddiem min għandi
nitwerwer? R/.
Ħaġa waħda tlabt
lill-Mulej,
ħaġa waħda nfittex:
li ngħammar f’dar
il-Mulej
tul il-jiem kollha ta’
ħajti;
biex nitgħaxxaq
bil-ħlewwa tal-Mulej
jien u nħares lejn
it-tempju tiegħu. R/.
Nemmen li għad nara
t-tjieba tal-Mulej f’art il-ħajjin.
Ittama fil-Mulej, żomm
sħiħ u qawwi qalbek;
ittama fil-Mulej. R/.
Reading
2 1 CORINTHIANS
1:10-13, 17
I urge you, brothers and
sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what
you say,and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the
same mind and in the same purpose. For it has been reported to me about you, my
brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. I
mean that each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or
“I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul
crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? For Christ did not
send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with the wisdom of human
eloquence, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.
Qari
II mill-Ewwel Ittra ta’ San Pawl
Appostlu lill-Korintin 1, 10-13.17
Nitlobkom, ħuti, f’isem
Sidna Ġesù Kristu, biex tkunu taqblu fi kliemkom u ma jkunx hemm firdiet
fostkom. Kunu magħqudin kif imiss, ħsieb wieħed u fehma waħda. Ħuti, in-nies
ta’ Kloji qaluli fuqkom li fostkom hemm it-tilwim: irrid ngħid jien, li kull
wieħed minnkom qiegħed jgħid: “Jiena ta’ Pawlu”, “U jiena ta’ Apollo”, “U jiena
ta’ Kefa”, “U jiena ta’ Kristu”. Jaqaw Kristu mifrud? Forsi Pawlu kien li
ssallab għalikom jew f’isem Pawlu tgħammidtu? Kristu ma bagħatnix biex ngħammed
iżda biex inxandar l-Evanġelju, mhux bi kliem l-għerf sabiex ma jiġix fix-xejn
is-salib ta’ Kristu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel Matthew 4:12-23 or 4:12-17
When Jesus heard that John
had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in
Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been
said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of
Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the
people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land
overshadowed by death light has arisen. From that time on, Jesus began to
preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As he was
walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter,
and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He
said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they
left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other
brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat,
with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately
they left their boat and their father and followed him. He went around all of
Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.
Evanġelju Qari skond San Mattew 4, 12-23
Meta Ġesù sama’ li
kienu arrestaw lil Ġwanni, warrab lejn il-Galilija. Telaq minn Nażaret u mar
joqgħod Kafarnahum, qrib il-baħar, fl-inħawi ta’ Żebulun u Naftali, biex hekk
iseħħ dak li kien ingħad permezz tal-profeta Isaija, meta qal:“Art ta’ Żebulun,
u art ta’ Naftali, it-triq tal-baħar, art ’il hemm mill-Ġordan, Galilija
tal-ġnus! Il-poplu li kien qiegħed fid-dlam ra dawl kbir; dawk li kienu f’art u
dell il-mewt idda dawl għalihom”. Minn dak iż-żmien Ġesù beda jxandar u jgħid:
“Indmu għax is-Saltna tas-Smewwiet waslet”. Huwa u jdur ma’ xatt il-baħar
tal-Galilija lemaħ żewġt aħwa, Xmun jgħidulu Pietru, u ħuh Indrì, qegħdin
jixħtu x-xbiek fil-baħar, għax kienu sajjieda. U qalilhom: “Ejjew warajja, u
nagħmilkom sajjieda tal-bnedmin”. U minnufih telqu x-xbiek, u marru warajh.
Wara li mexa minn hemm ra żewġt aħwa oħra, Ġakbu ta’ Żebedew u ħuh Ġwanni, qegħdin
fid-dgħajsa ma’ missierhom Żebedew isewwu x-xbiek tagħhom, u sejħilhom.
Minnufih telqu d-dgħajsa u lil missierhom, u marru warajh. Ġesù dar il-Galilija
kollha jgħallem fis-sinagogi tagħhom, ixandar l-Evanġelju tas-Saltna u jfejjaq
kull xorta ta’ mard u dgħufija fost il-poplu.Il-Kelma tal-Mulej R/. Tifħir lilek Kristu
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On God’s Healing
In his
commentary on this Sunday’s Gospel passage, Capuchin Father Raniero
Cantalamessa, the preacher of the Pontifical Household, points out nature and
grace as the means man has to overcome his illnesses.
* * *
This Sunday we read that as he was
walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers, casting a net into the
sea as they were fishermen. He called “Come after me, and I will make you
fishers of men.” And they left their nets and followed him. He walked further and
saw two other brothers in a boat, with their father mending their nets. Jesus
called them, and immediately they left their father and followed him. Jesus
went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the
gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people. (Matt
4:18-23)
The passage of this Gospel ends: “He
went around all of Galilee….curing every disease and illness among the people.”
Approximately one-third of the Gospel is
taken up by the cures wrought by Jesus in the brief period of his public life.
It is impossible to eliminate these miracles, or to give them a natural
explanation, without distorting the whole Gospel and making it
incomprehensible.
The miracles of the Gospel present
unmistakable characteristics. They are never carried out to astonish or to
extol the one working them. There are some today who allow themselves to be
fascinated when listening to those who seem to have certain powers of
levitation, of making things appear and disappear, and other such things. To
whom does this type of miracle serve, supposing that they are such? No one.
Only themselves, to make disciples or money. Jesus works miracles out of
compassion because he loves people. He also works miracles to help them
believe. Finally, he heals to proclaim that God is the God of life and that in
the end, together with death, sickness will also be overcome and there will be
no more mourning or weeping.
Not only does Jesus cure, but he orders
his apostles to do the same after him: “And he sent them to proclaim the
kingdom of God and to heal” (Luke 9:2). “As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick” (Matthew 10:7-8). We always
find the two things together: preach the Gospel and cure the sick. Man has two
means to try to overcome his sicknesses: nature and grace. Nature indicates the
intelligence, science, medicine, technology; grace indicates direct recourse to
God, through faith and prayer and the sacraments. The latter are the means that
the Church has at her disposition to “cure the sick.” Evil begins when a third
way is attempted: the way of magic, the one which exerts pressure on alleged
occult powers of the person, which are not based either on science or faith. In
this case, either we are before pure charlatanism and deceit, or worse, before
the action of God’s enemy.
It is not difficult to distinguish
between a true charism of healing and its falsification in magic. In the first
case, the person never attributes the results obtained to his own powers, but
to God; in the second, people only exhibit their own supposed “extraordinary
powers.” When, because of this, one reads announcements such as: Magician of so
on and so forth “succeeds where others fail, resolves problems of all kinds,
has recognized extraordinary powers, casts out demons, removes the evil eye…”
One must not have a minute’s doubt — they are swindlers. Jesus said that demons
were cast out “with fasting and prayer,” not by taking people’s money!
However, we must ask ourselves another
question. What should we think of the one who, despite everything, does not
heal? That this person does not have faith or that God does not love this person?
Were the persistence of illness a sign that the person has no faith, or that
God does not love him, one would have to conclude that the saints were the
poorest in faith and the least loved by God, because some spent their life in
bed. The answer is another. God’s power does not manifest itself only in one
way — eliminating evil, curing physically — but also by giving the capacity, at
times even the joy, of carrying one’s cross with Christ, completing what is
lacking in his sufferings. Christ has also redeemed suffering and death. The
latter is no longer a sign of sin, sharing in Adam’s fault, but is an
instrument of redemption. [Original
in Italian published by Famiglia Cristiana. Translation by ZENIT].
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