Only a voice in the wilderness?

Second Sunday of Advent

Lectionary: 6

It-Tieni Ħadd tal-Avvent 

Reading 1  =  BARuch 5:1-9

Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever: wrapped in the cloak of justice from God, bear on your head the mitre that displays the glory of the eternal name. For God will show all the earth your splendor: you will be named by God forever the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship. Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights; look to the east and see your children gathered from the east and the west at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are remembered by God. Led away on foot by their enemies they left you: but God will bring them back to you borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones. For God has commanded that every lofty mountain be made low, and that the age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground, that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God. The forests and every fragrant kind of tree have overshadowed Israel at God’s command; for God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company.

Qari I  -  mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Baruk 5, 1

Neħħi minn fuqek, Ġerusalemm, ilbies il-vistu u n-niket tiegħek, u ilbes għal dejjem id-dija tal-glorja ta’ Alla. Ilbes mantar il-ġustizzja ta’ Alla, qiegħed fuq rasek id-dijadema tal-glorja ta’ Alla ta’ dejjem. Għax Alla għad juri sbuħitek lid-dinja taħt ix-xemx, Alla jsemmik għal dejjem:“Sliem tal-Ġustizzja” u “Glorja tal-Qima ta’ Alla”. Qum, erusalemm, itla’ fl-għoli, u ħares madwarek lejn il-Lvant, ara ’l uliedek miġmugħa, minn fejn tinżel ix-xemx sa fejn titla’, għall-kelma tal-Qaddis, ferħana li Alla ftakar fihom. Telqu mingħandek bil-mixi, imkarkra mill-għedewwa, u issa Alla se jġibhomlok, merfugħin fil-ġieħ bħalkieku fuq tronijiet is-slaten. Għax Alla ordna; jitniżżlu l-muntanji għolja, u l-għoljiet ta’ dejjem, jimtlew il-widien u titwitta l-art, biex hemm Iżrael jimxi ’l quddiem, bla tfixkil ta’ xejn,taħt il-ħarsien ta’ Alla. U l-foresti u s-siġar tal-fwieħa, jixħtu dellhom għal fuq Iżrael, bl-ordni ta’ Alla. Għax Alla jmexxi lil Iżrael ferħan, b’dawl il-glorja tiegħu, imsieħba mill-ħniena u l-ġustizzja ħierġa minnu .Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm  =  PSalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6.

When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing. 
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed. 
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those who sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing. 
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Salm Responsorjali  -  SALM 125 (126), 1-2ab. 2ċd-3.4-5.6

R/. (3): Kbir f’għemilu l-Mulej magħna!

Meta l-Mulej reġġa’ lura l-imjassra ta’ Sijon,

konna qisna mitlufa  f’ħolma;

imbagħad bid-daħk imtela fommna, 

u bl-għajjat ta’ ferħ ilsienna.        R/

.

Imbagħad bdew jgħidu fost il-ġnus: 

"Kbir f’għemilu l-Mulej magħhom!

Kbir f’għemilu l-Mulej magħna! 

U aħna bil-ferħ imtlejna.     R/.

Biddel, Mulej, xortina bħall-widien tan-Negeb! 

Dawk li jiżirgħu fid-dmugħ 

jaħsdu bl-għana ta’ ferħ.    R/.

Huma u sejrin, imorru jibku, 

iġorru ż-żerriegħa għaż-żrigħ. 

Iżda huma u ġejjin  lura,                                                                                             jiġu b’għana ta’ ferħ, iġorru l-qatet f’idejhom. R/.

Reading 2  -  PHILippians 1:4-6, 8-11

Brothers and sisters: I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. God is my witness,  how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Qari II  -  mill-Ittra lill-Filippin 1, 4-6.8-11

Ħuti, nitlob dejjem ferħan fit-talb tiegħi għalikom, minħabba s-sehem li intom ħadtu fix-xandir tal-Evanġelju, mill-ewwel jiem sal-lum. Jiena żgur minn dan: li dak li beda din l-opra tajba fikom, iwassalha għat-tmiem tagħha sa ma jasal il-jum ta’ Kristu Ġesù. Iva, jixhidli Alla kemm jien miġbud lejkom bil-qalb ta’ Kristu Ġesù! U jien dan nitlob: li l-imħabba tagħkom tikber u toktor dejjem iżjed bl-għerf u b’kull dehen, biex tistgħu tagħrfu tagħżlu l-aħjar, u mbagħad tkunu safja u bla ebda ħtija fil-jum ta’ Kristu, mimlijin bil-frott tal-ġustizzja li ġejja permezz ta’ Ġesù Kristu, għall-glorja u l-foħrija ta’ Alla.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel   =  LuKe 3:1-6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,  during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one crying out in the desert:“Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

Evanġelju  -  Qari skont San Luqa 3, 1-6

Fis-sena ħmistax tal-ħakma ta’ Tiberju Ċesari, meta Ponzju Pilatu kien gvernatur tal-Lhudija, Erodi tetrarka tal-Galilija, ħuh Filippu tetrarka tal-artijiet tal-Iturija u t-Trakonija, u Lisanja tetrarka ta’ Abileni, fiż-żmien meta l-uffiċċju ta’ qassis il-kbir kien f’idejn Anna u Kajfa, il-kelma tal-Mulej ġiet fuq Ġwanni bin Żakkarija, fid-deżert. U ġie fl-inħawi kollha ta’ madwar il-Ġordan, ixandar magħmudija ta’ ndiema għall-maħfra tad-dnubiet, kif hemm imniżżel fil-ktieb tal-profeziji ta’ Isaija: “Leħen ta’ wieħed jgħajjat fid-deżert: Ħejju t-triq tal-Mulej, iddrittaw il-mogħdijiet tiegħu. Kull wied jimtela, kull muntanja u għolja titbaxxa, il-mogħdijiet mgħawwġa jiddrittaw, u t-triqat imħarbta jitwittew. U l-bnedmin kollha jaraw is-salvazzjoni ta’ Alla!”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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John the Baptist, the Paradox of Advent

A reflection by Fr Thomas Rosica csb

The true prophets of Israel help us in our struggle against all forms of duplicity. John the Baptist is the patron saint par excellence of authenticity. How often our words, thoughts, and actions are incoherent! Inherent in John the Baptist is the very paradox of Advent: the coming triumph of God manifest precisely in the darkness of the present, evil age. John the Baptist heard, experienced, and lived God’s liberating word in the desert and was thus able to preach it to others so effectively because his life and message were one. He certainly didn’t mince words. 

John the Baptist shatters the silence of the wilderness with his cry: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Not just “repent,” change the way we live, but repent and prepare for the coming of the Kingdom of heaven, which will upset all our securities and overturn anything we try to leave in place. The joy and the challenge of Advent is that in Jesus Christ, our God is coming, and our aching and longing for God are about to be met. But this God who comes disturbs us.

There was nothing politically correct about the Baptist’s message. He got right to the point and said what needed to be said. He told the first people who came to him to share. He told the tax collectors to be just. He told the soldiers to make peace.

The Baptist taught the people of his day and our day that the Messiah comes to save us from the powers of duplicity, despair, darkness, and death, and to put us back on the path of peace and reconciliation so that we might find our way back to God. John the Baptist’s life and mission remind us how badly we need a Saviour to save us, in order that we might be all that we are called to be and do all that we have to do to live in the Light. So often we fail to recognize the one among us who is our Way, our Truth, and our Life. This is what Advent is all about: finding our way back to God. 

The transformation of our deserts

Advent is a mystery that transforms and not just informs. Advent comprises a paradoxical combination of waiting and hastening, suffering and joy, judgment and deliverance, apocalyptic woe and eschatological hope. Unfortunately for our culture of instant gratification, hope requires incompleteness. To hope, in the true Advent fashion, is to live with the certainty of unfulfilled desire.

The God who was a highway engineer making new ways through the wilderness, a gardener turning deserts into flower gardens, is now the artist painting a new perspective of the age-old Messianic promise of hope. Hope in God cannot stand still, because – as Isaiah reminds us – we hope in a God who is constantly doing a new thing. Does our hope in God hold fast in the face of chaos and confusion in our life? How do we live with the Word of God? How can we live with the silence of God?

Advent teaches us that if we are quiet in our hearts long enough, we will discover that God still carves out highways and turns the desert places of our lives into oases of wonder, life, beauty, even though nothing will be as we expected. Any transformation of the wilderness depends on water.

Throughout the Old Testament, God is spoken of as the one who gives or withholds water – an image easily understood by people for whom water is a precious and controlled commodity. Few of us in the developed world have any concept of drought. The water piped into our homes deprives us of an image of God as the one on whom our very existence depends. Similarly, electricity deludes us into thinking we have the darkness under control. Together they rob us of daily experiences that could give vibrancy to the Advent invitation to revisit our dependence on God, to revisit our desire for God, and to discover through the night of waiting that God does indeed come.

The message of Advent is not that everything is falling to pieces. Nor is it that God is in heaven and all is therefore well with the world. Rather the message of Advent is that when every fixed star on the moral compass is wavering, when all hell is breaking loose on earth, we hear once again the Baptist’s consoling message:

Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Yet even with the birth of Jesus, we learn that Jerusalem and Israel still awaited their redemption. The world still awaits its freedom from hunger, war, oppression, violence, persecution, and suffering. We all await our redemption. Advent challenges us to look at the ways that we wait, the ways that we long for God, and the ways that we hope. What and who is the source of our Advent hope?

John the Baptist’s life can be summed up in the image of a finger pointing to the one who was coming: Jesus Christ. If we are to take on John’s role of preparing the way in today’s world, our lives also will become the pointing fingers of living witnesses who demonstrate that Jesus can be found and that he is near. Jesus is the fulfilment of our longing, our hoping, and our waiting. Jesus alone can transform the deserts of our lives into living gardens of beauty and nourishment for the world. Come, Lord Jesus! We need you now more than ever!

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To be blameless in holiness before our God and Father

Lectionary: 3

L-Ewwel Ħadd tal-Avvent

Reading 1     =   JERemiah 33:14-16

The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise  I made to the house of Israel and Judah. In those days, in that time,  I will raise up for David a just shoot ;  he shall do what is right and just in the land. In those days Judah shall be safe  and Jerusalem shall dwell secure;  this is what they shall call her:  “The LORD our justice.”  This is the Word of the Lord.

 Qari I  =  mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Ġeremija 33, 14-16

Ara, għad jiġu jiem – oraklu tal-Mulej – meta nġib fuq dar Iżrael u dar Ġuda l-ġid li wegħedthom. F’dawk il-jiem u f’dak iż-żmien intalla’ min-nisel ta’ David rimja tas-sewwa, bniedem li jagħmel il-ġustizzja u s-sewwa fil-pajjiż. F’dawk il-jiem Ġuda jinħeles u Ġerusalemm tgħammar b’moħħha mistrieħ, u għalhekk isejħulha: Il-Mulej is-sewwa tagħna. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm    =   PSalm 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
and for you I wait all the day. 
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way. 
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction. 
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Salm Responsorjali     =   SALM 24 (25), 4bċ-5ab. 8-9.10.14

R/. (1b): Lejk jien nerfa’ ruħi, Mulej

Triqatek, Mulej, għarrafni,

il-mogħdijiet tiegħek għallimni.

Mexxini fis-sewwa tiegħek u għallimni,

għax int Alla tas-salvazzjoni tiegħi. R/.

Tajjeb u sewwa l-Mulej;

għalhekk juri triqtu lill-ħatja.

Imexxi l-imsejkna fis-sewwa,

jgħallem lill-fqajrin it-triq tiegħu.  R/.

Il-mogħdijiet tal-Mulej kollhom tjieba u fedeltà

għal min iħares il-patt u l-liġijiet tiegħu.

Midħla l-Mulej ta’ dawk li jibżgħu minnu,

lilhom jgħarraf il-patt tiegħu.        R/.

Reading 2    =    1 THESsalonians 3:12—4:2

Brothers and sisters: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you,  so as to strengthen your hearts,  to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father  at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen. Finally, brothers and sisters, we earnestly ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that, as you received from us  how you should conduct yourselves to please God and as you are conducting yourselves you do so even more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.  This is the Word of the Lord.

Qari I   =   mill-1 Ittra lit-Tessalonikin 3, 12 – 4, 2

Ħuti, jalla l-Mulej ikattrilkom u jfawwarkom bl-imħabba għal xulxin u lejn kulħadd, l-istess bħalma aħna nħobbu lilkom, ħalli jqawwilkom qalbkom u jkollkom qdusija bla għajb quddiem Alla, Missierna, għal meta jiġi Sidna Ġesù mdawwar bil-qaddisin tiegħu. Fl-aħħar, ħuti, intom tgħallimtu mingħandna kif għandkom timxu biex togħġbu lil Alla, kif tabilħaqq qegħdin iġġibu ruħkom; aħna f’Sidna Ġesù nitolbukom u nħeġġukom biex tagħmlu xi ħaġa iżjed. Tafu x’tagħlim tajniekom permezz ta’ Sidna Ġesù. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej     

      

Gospel       LuKe 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus said to his disciples: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man  coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times  and pray that you have the strength  to escape the tribulations that are imminent  and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Evanġelju  =  Qari skont San Luqa 21, 25-28.34-36

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: “Ikun hemm sinjali fix-xemx u l-qamar u l-kwiekeb. Il-ġnus fuq l-art, b’qalbhom ittaqtaq, ma jafux x’jaqbdu jagħmlu minħabba l-ħsejjes tal-baħar u tal-imwieġ; in-nies ruħhom ħierġa bil-biża’ billi jobsru x’ikun ġej fuq id-dinja, għax il-qawwiet tas-smewwiet jitqallbu. Imbagħad jaraw lil Bin il-bniedem ġej fi sħaba, b’qawwa u glorja kbira. Meta jibda jseħħ dan kollu, qawwu qalbkom u erfgħu raskom, għax il-fidwa tagħkom hi fil-qrib. Oqogħdu attenti, u qisu li l-ikel u x-xorb żejjed u s-sokor ma jmewtulkomx qalbkom, u tħallux li l-ħafna tħassib għall-ħtiġiet tal-ħajja jeħdilkom raskom, li ma ssibuhx dak il-Jum fuqkom għal għarrieda. Għax hu Jum li għad jaqa’ bħal nassa fuq kull min jgħammar fuq wiċċ l-art kollha. Ishru, mela, u itolbu l-ħin kollu, biex tkunu tifilħu tgħaddu minn kulma għandu jiġri u tieqfu quddiem Bin il-bniedem”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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Those who watch for Christ

A reflection by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB

Every now and then when the world seems to be falling apart and problems appear to be insurmountable, I recall with gratitude the heroes of the Velvet Revolution who helped to bring down the reign of Communism in November and December of 1989. I cherish the words of hope of former Czech president Vaclav Havel, during his days of imprisonment. Those words captivated the imagination of many people as we witnessed the Communist regime finally come to an end:

The more unpropitious the situation in which we demonstrate hope, the deeper that hope is. Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. In short, I think that the deepest and most important form of hope, the only one that can keep us above water and urge us to good works, and the only true source of the breathtaking dimension of the human spirit and its efforts is something we get, as it were, from “elsewhere.”

I also turn frequently to the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s section on “The Theological Virtues” and read the paragraphs on hope (#1817-1821) to find peace of mind and heart. I have been particularly struck by the thoughts found in #1818:

“The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men’s activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity.”

Day-to-day following of Jesus

Such thoughts are important for us as we enter the season of Advent with a bang – this year with a section from Luke’s chapter on the end times! In Sunday’s Gospel story (21:25-28, 34-36), we can see, hear, and feel Jesus’ eschatological discourse as contained in Mark 13. The actual destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD, upon which Luke and his community look back in 21:20-24, provides the assurance that, just as Jesus’ prediction of Jerusalem’s destruction was fulfilled, so too will be his announcement of its final redemption (21:27-28).

The evangelist Luke has made some significant alterations to Mark’s description of the end times. Luke maintains the belief in an imminent end of the age but, by focusing attention throughout his Gospel on the importance of the day-to-day following of Jesus and by reinterpreting the meaning of certain signs of the end from Mark 13, he has come to terms with what seemed to the early Christian community to be a delay of the Parousia (Second Coming). In dealing with the persecution of the disciples (21:12-19) and the destruction of Jerusalem (21:20-24), Luke is pointing to eschatological signs that have already been fulfilled.

The central message of Christianity does not consist in knowing the exact details of the end of the world. As a matter of fact, there are very few specifics about the future in Jesus’ preaching other than that God is going to accomplish his purpose and he’s going to accomplish it through Jesus. Whenever my students ask me about the Second Coming, I always tell them that I suspect it’s going to be as big a surprise as the first coming was. It is in God’s hands. God will bring about his Kingdom in his own way and that is what is most important.

Blameless in holiness

In the second reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians (3:12-4:2), we encounter Paul trying to strengthen his Thessalonian converts in their new faith about twenty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. For Paul, an essential part of the Christian message was the Parousia, or the Second Coming. Without that event, the drama of salvation is incomplete. Paul believed that theParousia was imminent, but preparation was required. Paul asked two things of the early Christians: (1) an increase in mutual and universal love; and (2) the attainment of the Christian goal. This goal was holiness expressed in loving concern for one another. Holiness would be achieved through daily, ordinary acts of goodness, kindness, charity, and hope.

The work of Advent

Advent confronts us and wakes us from our stupor. What is the work of Advent for each of us this year? We are invited to quietly prepare our hearts and our lives for the coming of the ever-greater one in the flesh. For what or for whom are we waiting in life? What virtues or gifts are we praying to receive this year? What material things do we seek? The people, qualities, things we await give us great insights into who we are. Advent, far from being a penitential time or a time of despair, is a time of rejoicing in hope and a time of patient waiting. God knows how impatient we are as a people and as individuals. Nevertheless, patience is a blessed virtue for which we should pray during Advent.

Long ago St. Cyril of Jerusalem wrote that almost everything about our Lord Jesus Christ is twofold:

He has two births: one from God before the ages, the other from the Virgin at the end of all ages. He has two comings: the one is hidden and resembles the falling of the dew upon a fleece; the other – the future one – on the contrary will be manifest. At his first coming, he was wrapped in linens and laid in a manger; at the second, light shall be his robe. In the first coming he endured the Cross, heedless of its shame; in his second coming he will be in glory surrounded by an army of angels. Let us therefore not stop at his first coming but look forward to the second. We hailed him at his first coming with the words, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” And we shall hail him in the same way at his second coming. For we shall go out to meet the Lord and his angels, and, prostrating ourselves before him, we shall cry, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

As Christians, we proclaim the coming of Christ – not just a first coming but another as well that will be far more glorious than the first. The first took place under the sign of patient suffering; the second, on the contrary, will see Christ wearing the crown of God’s kingdom. Advent teaches us that there are two ways of looking at history: one is sociological and the other is religious. The first,chronos, is essentially unredeemed and cyclic. The second, kairos, is redeemed by God in Christ Jesus and becomes the occasion of providence and sacrament.

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The Lord is King

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ,

King of the Universe
Lectionary: 161

Solennità ta’ Sidna Ġesù Kristu,

Sultan tal-Ħolqien Kollu

Reading 1

Daniel 7:13-14

As the visions during the night continued, I saw one like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; when he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, the one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed. This is the Word of the Lord.

Qari I

Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Danjel 7, 13-14

Billejl deherli qiegħed nara bħal iben ta’ bniedem, ġej mis-sħab tas-sema, li baqa’ sejjer sax-Xiħ fl-għomor u ressquh quddiemu. U tawh ħakma, ġieħ, u saltna, biex lilu jaqdi kull ġens, u poplu, u lsien. Ħakmietu ħakma għal dejjem li ma tgħaddix, u saltnatu li ma tinqeridx. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm

PSALM 93:1, 1-2, 5

The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.

And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.

Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed;
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The LORD is king; he is robed in majesty.

Salm Responsorjali

Salm 92 (93) 1ab.1ċ-2.5

 R/. (1a): Il-Mulej isaltan; il-kobor libes

Il-Mulej isaltan; il-kobor libes,

libes il-Mulej u tħażżem bil-qawwa. R/.

Iżomm sħiħa d-dinja; qatt ma titħarrek.

Imwaqqaf it-tron tiegħek fis-sod minn dejjem;

minn dejjem ta’ dejjem int. R/.

            

Il-kmandamenti tiegħek ta’ min joqgħod fuqhom;

qdusija lil darek tixraq, Mulej,

sakemm itul iż-żmien. R/.

Reading 2

Revelations 1:5-8

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. All the peoples of the earth will lament him. Yes. Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, " says the Lord God, "the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."  This is the Word of the Lord.

Qari II

Qari mill-Ktieb tal-Apokalissi ta’ San Ġwann Appostlu 1, 5-8

Ġesù Kristu hu x-xhud fidil, il-Kbir fost il-mejtin, il-Prinċep tas-slaten tad-dinja. Lil Dak li ħabbna, u li ħallna minn dnubietna bis-saħħa ta’ demmu, u li għamilna saltna, qassisin għal Alla tiegħu Missieru, lilu l-glorja u s-setgħa għal dejjem ta’ dejjem. Ammen. Arawh, ġej fis-sħab, u l-għajnejn kollha jarawh, ukoll dawk li kienu nifduh; u r-razez kollha tal-art jibdew iħabbtu fuq sidirhom minħabba fih. Iva. Ammen! Jiena huwa l-Alfa u l-Omega, jgħid il-Mulej Alla, li hu, u li kien, u li għad irid jiġi, Dak li jista’ kollox! Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel

John 18:33B-37

Pilate said to Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?"  Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?"  Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I?  Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.  What have you done?"  Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.  But as it is, my kingdom is not here."  So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?"  Jesus answered, "You say I am a king.  For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."  This is the Word of the Lord.

Evanġelju

Qari skont San Ġwann 18, 33b-37

F’dak iż-żmien, Pilatu sejjaħ lil Ġesù u qallu: “Inti s-sultan tal-Lhud?” Ġesù wieġeb: “Dan qiegħed tgħidu int minn moħħok, jew kienu oħrajn li qalulek dan fuqi?” Pilatu wieġeb: “Mela jiena Lhudi? Kien il-poplu tiegħek u l-qassisin il-kbar li tawk f’idejja. X’għamilt?”. Ġesù wieġeb: “Is-saltna tiegħi mhijiex ta’ din id-dinja. Li kieku saltnati kienet ta’ din id-dinja, l-għases tiegħi kienu jiġġieldu biex ma ningħatax f’idejn il-Lhud; imma tabilħaqq saltnati mhijiex ta’ hawn”. Pilatu qallu: “Mela int sultan?” U Ġesù wieġeb: “Int qiegħed tgħidu; jien sultan. Jien għalhekk twelidt, u għalhekk ġejt fid-dinja, biex nixhed għall-verità. U kull min iħobb il-verità jisma’ leħni”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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The King Who Did Not Bow Down

A reflection by Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB

The liturgical year ends with the Solemnity of Christ the King. In John's poignant trial scene of Pilate and Jesus (18:33-37), we see a great contrast between power and powerlessness.

In coming to the Romans to ensure that Jesus would be crucified, the Jewish authorities fulfilled his prophecy that he would be exalted (John 3:14; 12:32-33). Pilate asks Jesus: "Are you the King of the Jews?" (v 33). The accused prepares his answer with a previous question, which provokes the Roman official: "Do you ask this on your own or did others tell you about me?" (v 34).

Pilate's arrogance does not intimidate Jesus, who then gives his own answer in the well-known words: "My kingdom is not from this world" (v 36). At once, Jesus gives the reason: "My kingdom does not use coercion, it is not imposed." Jesus reiterates his point: "My kingdom is not from this world."

Pilate is very astute. He does not see in Jesus' answer a denial of his kingship. In fact, Pilate infers and insists: "So you are a king" (v 37). Jesus accepts his claim without hesitation: "You say that I am a king. For this I came into the world."

For what? To inaugurate a world of peace and fellowship, of justice and respect for other people's rights, of love for God and for one another. This is the kingdom that penetrates our human history, illuminating it and leading it beyond itself, a kingdom that will have no end. When we pray the Our Father, we pray for this kingdom to come in its fullness.

In this Gospel scene, Pilate reveals himself as a deeply perplexed leader as he encounters one who is Truth. What is there of Pilate inside of each of us? What prevents us from being free? What are our fears? What are our labels? What costumes and masks are we wearing in public and really don't care to jeopardize? What is our capacity for neglecting and trampling on others for the sake of keeping up appearances, maintaining the façade, or the important job, or people's good opinion with regard to our respectability, our reputation or good name?

The Kingdom of Jesus

In the Fourth Gospel, the focus is on the kingship of Christ. The core of Jesus' message is the kingdom of God, and the God of Jesus Christ is the God of the kingdom, the one who has a word and an involvement in human history from which the image of the kingdom is taken. In the kingdom of Jesus, there is no distance between what is religious and temporal, but rather between domination and service.

Jesus' kingdom is unlike the one that Pilate knows and is willingly or unwillingly part of. Pilate's kingdom, and for that matter the Roman kingdom, was one of arbitrariness, privileges, domination and occupation. Jesus' kingdom is built on love, justice and peace.

Jesus proclaims the kingdom of God, the kingdom of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace. This kingdom is God's final aim and purpose in everything he has done from the beginning. It is his final act of liberation and salvation. Jesus speaks of this kingdom as a future reality, but a reality that is mysteriously already present in his being, his actions and words and in his personal destiny.

If today's solemnity of Christ the King upsets some of us, is it not due to our own disillusionment of earthly kings and leaders, rather than the kingship of Jesus? The kingship and leadership of God's Son refuses rank and privilege, and any attempt to be master of the world. In him there is no lust, greed and ambition for power. He, the innocent king who executes no one, is himself executed. His reign completely overturns our notions of earthly kingship. His is a kingship of ultimate service, even to the point of laying down his life for others.

In John's Gospel, Jesus goes to his death as a king. The crucifixion is Jesus' enthronement, the ultimate expression of royal service. Because of Christ, the coronation of suffering is no longer death, but rather eternal life. Very few can measure up to Jesus' kingly stature, remaining powerless in the face of the powerful. Many of us resist with power, even though we resort to very refined forms of pressure and manipulation. Jesus never responded to violence with more violence.

Two crowns

The solemnity of Christ the King has had particular significance for me since I lived at Ecce Homo Convent, the Sisters of Sion Center on the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem's Old City during the years of my graduate studies in Scripture. The whole complex is built over what is believed to be Pontius Pilate's judgment hall, the setting for today's striking Gospel scene between Jesus and Pontius Pilate.

The holy sites in Jerusalem, which commemorate events in the life, passion and death of Jesus, often have two feasts throughout the year, feasts that remember the joyful and sorrowful aspects of Jesus' life. Ecce Homo Center's "patronal" feasts are the joyful solemnity of Christ the King at the end of the liturgical year, and the sorrowful feast of Jesus crowned with thorns on the first Friday of Lent.

Two feasts, two crowns, two images of Jesus the Lord set before the Christian community to ponder and imitate.

The feast of Christ the King presents us with the image of Christ crowned -- first with thorns, then with the victor's laurel hat, the evergreen crown of glory. On the day of our baptism, the crown of our head was smeared with the holy oil of chrism, that royal oil that makes us another Christos, another Anointed One. We have the power to live faithfully and love fiercely as Jesus did. The crown of glory -- Christ's very own -- is promised to each of us. Which crown is found at the center of our faith and our proclamation?

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At the point of our Death and Judgement

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

It-33 Ħadd matul is-Sena 'B'

Messalin  'B' pp 515

Reading 1         

Daniel 12:1-3

In those days, I Daniel, heard this word of the Lord: "At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people; it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress since nations began until that time. At that time your people shall escape, everyone who is found written in the book. "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace. "But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever."

L-Ewwel Qari

mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Danjel 12, 1-2

F'dak iż-żmien  iqum Mikiel, il-prinċep il-kbir, dak li qiegħed fuq ulied il-poplu tiegħek. Imbagħad jiġi żmien ta' għawġ,  li qatt ma jkun deher ieħor bħalu minn mindu ġens kien ġens sa dak iż-żmien. Imma jkun żmien li fih il-poplu tiegħek jinħeles, dawk kollha li jkunu nstabu miktuba fil-ktieb. U ħafna minn dawk li huma rieqda fit-trab tal-art jistenbħu,  min għall-ħajja ta' dejjem, u min għall-għajb u l-istmerrija għal dejjem. Il-bnedmin bil-għaqal ikollhom fuqhom dija bħal dik tas-sema, u dawk li jkunu waslu 'l ħafna  fis-sewwa jkunu jiddu  bħal kwiekeb għal dejjem ta' dejjem.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm            

PSALM 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11

   R. (1) You are my inheritance, O Lord!

O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.                  R/

Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.         R/

You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.                                  R/

Salm Responsorjali

Salm 15 (16))

          R/   Ħarisni, o Allaj, għax fik  jien  nistkenn.

Mulej, inti s-sehem tal-wirt u r-riżq tiegħi,

inti żżomm f'idejk xortija.

Inżomm il-Mulej dejjem quddiemi,

għax bih f'leminti qatt ma nitħarrek.                  R/

Hekk tifraħ qalbi u tithenna ruħi,

u ġismi wkoll jistrieħ bil-kwiet.

Għax inti ma titlaqnix fl-imwiet,

ma tħallix il-maħbub tiegħek jara l-qabar. R/

Inti tgħallimni t-triq tal-ħajja,

hemm il-milja tal-ferħ quddiemek,

hemm għaxqa għal dejjem f'lemintek.      R/

Reading 2

Hebrews 10:11-14, 18

Brothers and sisters: Every priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin.

It-Tieni Qari

mill-Ittra lil Lhud 10, 11- 14-18

Kull qassis ieħor imur kuljum biex jaqdi l-ministeru tiegħu, u joffri  u jerġa' joffri l-istess sagrifiċċju, bla ma jistgħu qatt ineħħu d-dnubiet. Imma, Kristu,  wara li offra sagrifiċċju wieħed għad-dnubiet, qagħad għal dejjem fuq in-naħa tal-lemin ta' Alla, fejn qiegħed jistenna sa ma l-għedewwa tiegħu jitqiegħdu  mirfes taħt riġejh.   Għax hu, b'offerta waħda għamel perfetti għal dejjem lil dawk, li hu jqaddes. Issa, fejn hemm il-maħfra tad-dnubiet,  ma hemmx għalfejn  issir aktar l-offerta għad-dnubiet. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel                                                                                               Mark 13:24-32

Jesus said to his disciples: "In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. "And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky. "Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, at the gates. Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. "But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

L-Evanġelju

Qari skond San Mark 13, 24-32

F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal lid-dixxipli tiegħu: "Wara jiem ta' dwejjaq kbar, ix-xemx  tiddallam, il-qamar jitlef id-dija tiegħu, il-kwiekeb  jibdew jaqgħu mis-sema, u  l-qawmiet tas-smewwiet jitqallbu. Imbagħad jaraw lil Bin il-bniedem ġej fis-sħab  b'qawwa  kbira u bi glorja. U mbagħad  jibgħat l-anġli biex jiġbor flimkien il-maħturin tiegħu mill-erbat irjieħ, minn tarf l-artb sa tarf is-sema. Mis-siġra tat-tin tgħallmu din il-parabbola. Meta l-fergħa tagħha tirtab u tarmi l-weraq, intom tintebħu li s-sajf  fil-qrib. Hekk ukoll meta taraw dan jiġri,  kunu afu li hu fil-qrib, fil-bieb. Tassew ngħidilkom,  li ma jgħaddix dan in-nisel qabel ma jiġri dan kollu.   Is-sema  u l-art jgħaddu, imma kliemi ma jgħaddix. Dwar dak il-jum u s-siegħa ħadd ma jaf meta se jaslu, anqas l-anġli fis-sema,  u anqas l-Iben; ħadd ħlief il-Missier. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej 

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Fr Cantalamessa on the End of the World

Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, on the readings from this Sunday’s liturgy.

* * *

The Gospel of the second to last Sunday of the liturgical year is the classic text on the end of the world. There has always been someone who has taken it upon themselves to wave this page of the Gospel in the face of their contemporaries and provoke psychosis and fear. My advice is to be calm and to not let yourself be in the least bit troubled by these visions of catastrophe.

Just read the last line of the same Gospel passage: “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” If neither the angels nor the Son (insofar as he is man and not insofar as he is God) know the day or hour of the end, is it possible that a member of some sect or some religious fanatic would know and be authorized to announce it? In the Gospel Jesus assures us of the fact of his return and the gathering his chosen ones from the “four winds”; the when and the how of his return (on the clouds between the darkening of the sun and the falling of the stars) is part of the figurative language of the literary genre of these discourses.

Another observation might help explain certain pages of the Gospel. When we talk about the end of the world on the basis of the understanding of time that we have today, we immediately think of the absolute end of the world, after which there can be nothing but eternity. But the Bible goes about its reasoning with relative and historical categories more than with absolute and metaphysical ones. Thus, when the Bible speaks of the end of the world, it intends quite often the concrete world, that which in fact exists for and is known by a certain group of people, their world. It is, in sum, the end of a world that is being treated not the end of the world, even if the two perspectives at times intertwine.

Jesus says: “This generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.” Is he mistaken? No, it was the world that was known to his hearers that passed away, the Jewish world. It tragically passed away with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. When, in 410, the Vandals sacked Rome, many great figures of the time thought that it was the end of the world. They were not all that wrong; one world did end, the one created by Rome with its empire. In this sense, those who, with the destruction of the twin towers on September 11, 2001, thought of the end of the world, were not mistaken …

None of this diminishes the seriousness of the Christian charge but only deepens it. It would be the greatest foolishness to console oneself by saying that no one knows when the end of the world will be and forgetting that, for any of us, it could be this very night. For this reason Jesus concludes Sunday’s Gospel with the recommendation that we “be vigilant because no one knows when the exact moment will be.

”We must, I think, completely change the attitude with which we listen to these Gospels that speak of the end of the world and the return of Christ. We must no longer regard as a punishment and a veiled threat that which the Scriptures call “the blessed hope” of Christians, that is, the return of our Lord Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).

The mistaken idea we have of God must be corrected. The recurrent talk about the end of the world which is often engaged in by those with a distorted religious sentiment, has a devastating effect on many people. It reinforces the idea of a God who is always angry, ready to vent his wrath on the world. But this is not the God of the Bible which a psalm describes as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, who will not always accuse or keep his anger forever … because he knows that we are made of dust” (Psalm 103:8-14).