"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. " (John 12)
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Thursday 6 June 2024

LOOKING BEYOND.....

Readings for Sunday, June 9, 2024 



Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 89

Qari tal-Għaxar Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena


Reading 1                  GENESIS 3:9-15

After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree, the LORD God called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself." Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!" The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me— she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it." The LORD God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it." Then the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; on your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel."

QARI 1                  mill-Ktieb tal-Ġenesi 3, 9-15

Wara li Adam kiel mis-siġra, il-Mulej Alla sejjaħ lil Adam u staqsieh: “Fejn int?” U dak wieġeb: “Smajt ħossok fil-ġnien u bżajt għax jien għeri, u nħbejt”. U staqsieh: “Min qallek li int għeri? Jaqaw kilt mis-siġra li jien ordnajtlek li ma tikolx minnha?” U wieġeb Adam: “Il-mara li inti tajtni għal miegħi, hi tatni mis-siġra, u jiena kilt”. U l-Mulej Alla qal lill-mara: “X’inhu dan li għamilt?” U l-mara wieġbet: “Is-serp qarraq bija, u jien kilt”. U l-Mulej Alla qal lis-serp: “Talli għamilt dan, misħut int fost il-bhejjem kollha u fost l-annimali selvaġġi!  Għal żaqqek titkaxkar, u t-trab tal-art tiekol il-jiem kollha ta’ ħajtek. U jien inqajjem mibegħda bejnek u bejn il-mara, bejn nislek u nisilha, u hu jisħaqlek rasek u int tisħaqlu għarqubu”.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej 

Responsorial Psalm                       PSALM 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption
and he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

SALM RESPONSORJALI                Salm 129 (130), 1-2.3-4ab.4ċ-6.7-8

R/. (7): Għand il-Mulej hemm it-tjieba, u l-fidwa għandu bil-kotra

Minn qiegħ l-art insejjaħlek, Mulej:
isma’, Sidi, il-leħen tiegħi!
Ħa jkunu widnejk miftuħa,
jiena u nitolbok bil-ħniena. R/.

Jekk tal-ħtijiet int tagħti kas, Mulej,
Sidi, min jista’ jżomm sħiħ?
Imma għandek hemm il-maħfra,
biex hekk inqimuk fil-biża’ tiegħek. R/.

Jien lill-Mulej nistenna,
ruħi f’kelmtu tittama.
Tistenna ruħi lil Sidi,
aktar milli l-għassiesa s-sebħ. R/.

Jistenna Iżrael lill-Mulej!
Għax għand il-Mulej hemm it-tjieba,
u l-fidwa għandu bil-kotra.
Hu li jifdi lil Iżrael
minn ħtijietu kollha. R/.

Reading 2                2 CORINTHIANS 4:13—5:1

Brothers and sisters: Since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we too believe and therefore we speak, knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence. Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God. Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal. For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.

QARI 2                  mit-2 Ittra lill-Korintin 4, 13 – 5, 1

Ħuti, billi aħna għandna l-istess spirtu ta’ fidi li fuqu hemm miktub: “Emmint, u għalhekk tkellimt”, aħna wkoll emminna, u għalhekk tkellimna; għax nafu li dak li qajjem lill-Mulej Ġesù, lilna wkoll għad iqajjimna flimkien ma’ Ġesù u jressaqna quddiemu flimkien magħkom. Għax dan kollu minħabba fikom, biex il-grazzja tilħaq ħafna bnedmin oħra, u b’hekk jitkattar ir-radd ta’ ħajr, għall-glorja ta’ Alla. Għalhekk ma naqtgħux qalbna, għax imqar jekk il-bniedem ta’ barra jitħassar, il-bniedem ta’ ġewwa jiġġedded minn jum għal jum. Id-daqsxejn ta’ tbatija tagħna ta’ issa tħejjilna kobor ta’ glorja bla qjies għal dejjem; lilna li ma nħarsux lejn il-ħwejjeġ li jidhru, iżda lejn dawk li ma jidhrux. Dawk li jidhru huma għal żmien qasir, dawk li ma jidhrux huma għal dejjem. Aħna nafu li jekk din it-tinda tal-għamara tagħna fl-art tiġġarraf, aħna għandna dar oħra, maħduma mhux bl-idejn, imma xogħol ta’ Alla, għal dejjem fis-sema. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                 MARK 3:20-35

Jesus came home with his disciples. Again the crowd gathered, making it impossible for them even to eat. When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons." Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him. But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder the house. Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin." For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit." His mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside they sent word to him and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, "Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you." But he said to them in reply, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

EVANĠELJU                Qari skond San Mark 3, 20-35

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù, flimkien mad-dixxipli tiegħu, mar id-dar, u l-kotra reġgħet inġemgħet, hekk li anqas biss setgħu jieklu. Qrabatu, malli semgħu, ħarġu biex iżommuh, għax qalu li tilef moħħu. Il-kittieba li kienu niżlu minn Ġerusalemm bdew jgħidu: “Dan għandu fih lil Begħelżebul u bis-saħħa tal-Prinċep tax-xjaten qiegħed ikeċċihom ix-xjaten”. Hu sejħilhom lejh u beda jkellimhom bil-parabboli: “Kif jista’ x-Xitan ikeċċi x-Xitan? Jekk saltna tinqasam fiha nfisha, dik is-saltna ma tistax iżżomm wieqfa. U jekk familja tinqasam fiha nfisha, dik il-familja ma tistax iżżomm wieqfa. Li kieku mela x-Xitan qam kontra tiegħu nnifsu u nfired, ma kienx jista’ jżomm sħiħ, imma jkun wasal fit-tmiem. Ħadd ma jista’ jidħol fid-dar ta’ wieħed qawwi u jaħtaflu ġidu jekk qabel ma jkunx rabat lil dak il-qawwi; imbagħad id-dar jaħtafhielu żgur. Tassew ngħidilkom, kollox jinħafrilhom lil ulied il-bniedem, id-dnubiet u d-dagħa kollu li jidgħu. Imma min jieqaf lill-Ispirtu s-Santu ma jkollu qatt maħfra; jibqa’ ħati għal dejjem”. Għax kienu qalu: “Għandu fih spirtu ħażin”.  Darba ġew ommu u ħutu, baqgħu barra u bagħtu jsejħulu. Dak il-ħin kien hemm ħafna nies bilqiegħda madwaru, u qalulu: “Ara, ommok u ħutek qegħdin hemm barra u jriduk”. U hu weġibhom: “Min huma ommi u ħuti?” Imbagħad dawwar ħarstu fuq dawk li kien hemm madwaru bilqiegħda, u qal: “Dawn, ara, huma ommi u ħuti. Kull min jagħmel ir-rieda ta’ Alla, dak huwa ħija, u oħti, u ommi”.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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An 8-minute Reflection on Sunday's Readings by Fr Anthony Kadavil 


WHEN WE SIN....

Introduction: 

The readings for next Sunday, the Tenth Sunday [B] in Ordinary Time, give the name “sin” to our offenses against God. When we sin — violate God’s Commandments — we distance ourselves from Him; when we refuse, or fear, to admit our sins, we deny ourselves God’s freely offered pardon and forgiveness.

Scripture lessons, summarized: 

In describing Adam and Eve’s first sin, disobedience, our first reading, taken from Genesis, explains the beginning of evil in the world with its destructive results. The loving relationship joining man to God was destroyed, and the relationship of mutual love between Adam and Eve was weakened. Their default to a “blame game” allowed each to avoid taking personal responsibility for their joint choice. 

In the second reading, Paul declares to the Corinthians that the many adversities of his missionary work were God’s plan for his spiritual growth; his sufferings, offered with Jesus for the Salvation of the world, would result a glorious reward for him and for all believers who did the same. 

Sunday’s Gospel passage reveals how Jesus himself was misunderstood by his own relatives and was criticized, slandered, and rejected by the Sanhedrin-led scribes and Pharisees. His sufferings for us give us both courage and his offer of healing, strength, and forgiveness, so that we can do as he did when we face unfair treatment and criticism in our lives.

Life messages:

1) Today’s Scriptures challenge us to face rejection with prophetic courage and optimism. Very often our friends, families, or childhood companions fail to listen to us and refuse to accept the words of grace, love, and encouragement that we offer to them because they know so much about us and are so used to us, they disregard what we have to say, if they even hear it! But we have to face such rejection with prophetic courage because by our Baptism we are called to be prophets like Jesus, sharing his prophetic mission. 

As prophets, our task is to speak the truth in love and oppose the evils in our society, refusing to condone or encourage sinful behavior even in our dear ones, though we do not “excommunicate” them, from our lives, but continue to love them while we pray for them.

2) We need to have the courage of our convictions:  Modern “liberal-minded” people may find the genuine Christians’ belief in and practice of Christ’s ideas and ideals ”just plain crazy!” Hence, what is needed in a Christian is the courage of his or her convictions based on the authority of Jesus as God and the truth of his doctrines and expressed in the Magisterium of the Church.

3) We need to live as members of God’s family: Let us remember that by Baptism we become the children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, and members of the Heavenly family of the Triune God. Hence, let us observe our obligations of treating others with love and respect and of sharing our love with them in corporal and spiritual works of mercy. 

We are also His disciples, and so are obliged to be hearers as well as doers of the word of God. Let us keep our souls daily cleansed and filled with the Spirit of God, leaving no space for the evil spirit to enter our souls.

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