« Sunday,
February 9, 2020 »
Fifth
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 73
Il-Ħames
Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena
Reading
1 ISAIAH 58:7-10
Thus says the LORD: Share your bread
with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do
not turn your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the
dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before
you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call,
and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious
speech; if you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; then
light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you
like midday.
Qari
I mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 58,
7-10
Dan jgħid il-Mulej:“Mhux dan is-sawm li
jiena rrid li taqsam ħobżok ma’ min hu bil-ġuħ, u ddaħħal f’darek lill-imsejken
bla saqaf? Mhux li tlibbes lil min tara għarwien, u n-nies ta’ darek ma
tinsihomx? Imbagħad ifeġġ bħaż-żerniq id-dawl tiegħek, u malajr tagħlaqlek
il-ġerħa tiegħek. Quddiemek timxi l-ġustizzja tiegħek, u l-glorja tal-Mulej
timxi warajk. Jekk biss issejjaħlu, iwieġeb il-Mulej; jekk tgħajjatlu,
jgħidlek: “Hawn jien!” Jekk tneħħi minn nofsok il-moħqrija, ma tmiddx subgħek u
ma tagħmilx deni bi lsienek, jekk int qalbek toħroġ għall-imġewwaħ, u xxabba’
qalb l-imnikket, imbagħad id-dawl tiegħek ifiġġ fid-dlam, u s-swied tiegħek
ikun bħan-nofsinhar”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Responsorial
Psalm PSALM 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Light shines through the darkness for
the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
Well for the man who is gracious and
lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice.
R. The just man is a light in darkness
to the upright.
He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting
remembrance.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
R. The just man is a light in darkness
to the upright.
His heart is steadfast; he shall not
fear.
Lavishly he gives to the poor;
His justice shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory.
R. The just man is a light in darkness
to the upright.
Salm Responsorjali Salm 111 (112), 4-5.6-7.8a.9
R/. (4a): Dawl fid-dlam ifeġġ
għat-tajbin
Dawl fid-dlam ifeġġ għat-tajbin;
twajjeb u ħanin il-bniedem sewwa.
Tajjeb il-bniedem li jħenn u jislef,
li jmexxi ħwejġu bir-reqqa. R/.
Għax il-bniedem ġust qatt ma jitfixkel;
għal dejjem tibqa’ t-tifkira tiegħu.
Xejn ma jibża’ minn aħbar ħażina;
qalbu qawwija bit-tama tal-Mulej. R/.
Qalbu qawwija, m’għandux mniex jibża’.
Iqassam u jagħti lill-foqra;
għal dejjem tibqa’ l-ġustizzja tiegħu;
rasu merfugħa bil-ġieħ. R/.
Reading
2 1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-5
When I came to you,
brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with
sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was
with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and
fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with
persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of Spirit and power, so
that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
Qari
II mill-Ewwel Ittra ta’ San Pawl
Appostlu lill-Korintin 2, 1-5
Meta jiena wasalt
għandkom, ħuti, ma ġejtx inħabbrilkom il-Misteru ta’ Alla bi kliem kbir jew
għaref. Ma ppretendejtx li kont naf xi ħaġa fostkom, ħlief lil Ġesù Kristu, u
lil dan imsallab. Jiena ġejt għandkom dgħajjef, imbażża’ u mriegħed. Il-kelma u
l-predikazzjoni tiegħi ma kinux imlibbsa bil-kliem qawwi tal-għerf, imma
bil-wiri tal-Ispirtu u l-qawwa, sabiex il-fidi tagħkom tinbena mhux fuq l-għerf
tal-bniedem, imma fuq il-qawwa ta’ Alla. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
Gospel MATTHEW 5:13-16
Jesus said to his
disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with
what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out
and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a
mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a
bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it
Evanġelju Qari skond San Mattew 5, 13-16
F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù
qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: “Intom il-melħ tal-art. Imma jekk il-melħ jaqta’, biex
jerġa’ jieħu t-togħma? Ma jibqa’ tajjeb għal xejn iżjed ħlief biex jintrema
barra u jintrifes min-nies. Intom id-dawl tad-dinja. Belt li tkun qiegħda fuq
muntanja ma tistax tinħeba. Anqas ma jixegħlu l-musbieħ u jqegħduh taħt
is-siegħ, iżda fuq l-imnara, u hekk idawwal lil kull min ikun fid-dar. Hekk
għandu jiddi d-dawl tagħkom quddiem il-bnedmin, biex jaraw l-għemejjel tajba
tagħkom u jagħtu glorja lil Missierkom li hu fis-smewwiet”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej
///////
/////////////////
A reflection
by Archbishop Francesco Follo
The
salt of the earth and the light of the world is Jesus and we with Him.
In this
Sunday’s Gospel Christ says to his disciples of all time: “You are the salt of
the earth … You are the light of the world” (Mt 5, 13 and 14). With these words
Jesus does not invite us to strive to become salt and light, but reveals to us
what we are. He does not tell us what we must do, he reminds us of what we are
already: salt and light. Of course, after the being comes the action and, therefore,
we must become aware that we are like the salt that preserves and gives flavor.
We have the task of giving new “flavor” to the world and to preserve it from
corruption in the same way the light illuminates giving security and heat. We
can do it with the wisdom of God that fully shines on the face of the Son
because He is the “true light that enlightens every man” (Jn 1,9).
In saying: “You
are the salt of the earth” Jesus tells us that the human nature, corrupted by
sin, has become tasteless but, through our ministry of witness, the grace of
the Holy Spirit will regenerate and preserve the world. For this reason the
Savior teaches us the virtues of the Beatitudes that are the most necessary,
the most effective for us who want to be like him. Those who are meek, humble,
merciful, and just do not keep inside the good works that they have done, but
take care that these works are sources for the good of others. Those who have a
pure heart, those who are peacemakers, and those suffering persecution for the
truth are the ones who devote their life to the good of all. If we dissolve
like salt, we give flavor to the life of the world and build a culture of life
and a civilization of love.
In saying: “You
are the light of the world,” Christ teaches us that we, united with him, can
spread, in the midst of the darkness of indifference and selfishness ,the light
of love of God, true wisdom that gives meaning to the existence and the acting
of men. To the teaching that we are light Jesus immediately adds these words:
“A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then
put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to
all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may
see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Mt 5, 15-16).
Works of
light.
If it is true
that in the friendly light of the Christians all men find Christ, light of life
and perfect truth, it is also true that we are light not so much with doctrine
or words but above all with the works that our light shines in world. To do this we
need no particular skills, we need to “preach” by our works. There would not be
unbelievers, if we were Christians as we should.
St. Francis de
Sales said: “Do not speak of God to those who don’t ask. But live so that,
sooner or later, they will ask. “
It is just
so: our works are the ones that rekindle
the demand and persuade. In this way we will be salt of the earth and light of
the world. In this way we will be true missionaries without saying a word. Pope
Francis teaches: “All of us who are baptized, are disciples and missionaries
and we are called to become a living Gospel in the world. With a holy life we
will give ‘flavor’ to different environments and we will defend them from
corruption, as salt does and we will bring the light of Christ through the
witness of genuine charity.”
For those,
however, who are called to preach with words, a law is required: to put into
practice what they preach to others. It is inevitable that the preaching is not
accepted when it is not followed by the example. St. John Chrysostom said: “The
pupils observe the conduct of the masters and, if they see that they too are
subject to the same defects, or even worse, how could they admire
Christianity?” And he added: “When I seek in you the signs to recognize you as
a Christian, I find quite opposite signs. If I wanted to judge who you are from
the places you go, the corrupt people with whom you are, the words that are not
serious and useful, I would say that nothing remains for me to recognize you as
a Christian.” Rightly, St. Francis de Sales asked: “What difference exists
between the Gospel and the life of a saint?” Then he answered “It is the same
difference that there is between a symphony written, and a symphony performed”.
It is so: in the life of a saint, or at least in that of a fervent Christian,
we learn how to put into practice the Gospel. We all, in addition, must strive
to be this “symphony performed” for all the brothers and the sisters that we
meet on our way.
We are called
to be salt of the earth and light of the world doing good works. At this point
you may be wondering of which good works Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel. For
good works we must only think of the works of mercy that must never be lacking,
but also of all the individual virtues. To be concrete, I will recall briefly
which are the virtues and which the capital vices. First of all, the
theological virtues: faith, hope and charity, and the cardinal: justice,
prudence, fortitude and temperance. But we must not ignore the virtues that are
found in the Beatitudes: patience, purity, humility, meekness, simplicity and
poverty of spirit. It is worth mentioning the capital vices, which are seven:
pride, sloth, lust, anger, gluttony, envy and avarice. Every time we let us be
taken by these vices, we give a counter-witness and drive away our neighbor
from the Truth. If, on the contrary, we will practice the virtues and we will
do good works, we will be the light that illuminates and the salt that gives
flavor.
The important
thing is that we do not stop at the surface of ourselves, but we go to the
secret cell of our heart, where are a handful of salt and a spark of light. By
living according to the Gospel let that spark turn on the lamp and our light
shine in our good works.
Let’s do this
with humility, knowing that the salt of the earth and the light of the world is
Jesus. We will be light and salt if – thanks to a good life – we will talk about Him and as little as
possible about ourselves. ///////
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