He who takes away our sin

  « January 19 »

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 64   

It-Tieni Ħadd taż-Żmien ta’ Matul is-Sena

Reading 1   ISAIAH 49:3, 5-6

The LORD said to me: You are my servant, Israel, through whom I show my glory. Now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength! It is too little, the LORD says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Qari I        mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 49, 3.5-6

Il-Mulej qalli: “Iżrael, inti l-qaddej tiegħi, bik jiena nkun imfaħħar”. Issa tkellem il-Mulej, li minn ġuf ommi għamilni qaddej tiegħu, biex għandu nraġġa’ lura lil Ġakobb, u biex Iżrael jinġabar miegħu mill-ġdid – għax jien kont imfaħħar f’għajnejn il-Mulej, u Alla tiegħi kien il-qawwa tiegħi – u Hu qalli: “Tkun ħaġa żgħira wisq għalik, li inti tkun il-qaddej tiegħi, biex tqajjem it-tribù ta’ Ġakobb, u traġġa’ lura l-fdal ta’ Iżrael. Jien nagħmel minnek dawl għall-ġnus, biex is-salvazzjoni tiegħi sa truf l-art tinfirex”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm    PSALM 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10

I have waited, waited for the LORD,

and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.

And he put a new song into my mouth,

a hymn to our God.

R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

Sacrifice or offering you wished not,

but ears open to obedience you gave me.

Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;

then said I, “Behold I come.”

R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,

to do your will, O my God, is my delight,

and your law is within my heart!”

R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

I announced your justice in the vast assembly;

I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.

R/ Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.

Salm Responsorjali      Salm 39 (40), 2.4ab.7-8a.8b-9.10

R/. (8a.9a): Hawn jien, Mulej, ġej nagħmel ir-rieda tiegħek

Ittamajt b’tama qawwija fil-Mulej;

hu niżel ħdejja u sama’ l-għajta tiegħi.

Qegħedli fuq fommi għanja ġdida,

għanja ta’ tifħir lil Alla tagħna. R/.

Int ma titgħaxxaqx b’sagrifiċċji u b’offerti;

imma widnejja inti ftaħtli;

ma tlabtnix vittmi tal-ħruq u tat-tpattija.

Imbagħad jien għedt: “Hawn jien, ġej”. R/.

“Fil-bidu tal-ktieb hemm miktub fuqi

li nagħmel ir-rieda tiegħek.

Alla tiegħi, dan jogħġobni;

il-liġi tiegħek ġewwa qalbi”. R/.

Xandart il-ġustizzja f’ġemgħa kbira;

xufftejja ma żammejthomx magħluqa.

Mulej, dan inti tafu. R/.

Reading 2    1 CORINTHIANS 1:1-3

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Qari II     Bidu tal-Ewwel Ittra lill-Korintin 1, 1-3

Pawlu, li Alla ried isejjaħlu biex ikun appostlu ta’ Kristu Ġesù, u Sòsteni ħuna, lill-knisja ta’ Alla li qiegħda f’Korintu; lil dawk li tqaddsu fi Kristu Ġesù, imsejħa biex ikunu qaddisin flimkien ma’ dawk kollha li f’kull pajjiż isejħu l-isem ta’ Ġesù Kristu, is-Sid tagħhom u tagħna; grazzja u sliem mingħand Alla missierna u l-Mulej Ġesù Kristu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel    JOHN 1:29-34

John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

Evanġelju      Qari skond San Ġwann 1, 29-34

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġwanni, ra lil Ġesù riesaq lejh, u qal: “Araw il-Ħaruf ta’ Alla, li jneħħi d-dnub tad-dinja. Dan hu li għalih għedtilkom: “Warajja ġej bniedem li hu aqwa minni, għax kien qabli”. Anqas jien stess ma kont nafu, imma jien għalhekk ġejt ngħammed bl-ilma, biex hu jkun mgħarraf lil Iżrael”. U Ġwanni xehed għalih u qal: “Jiena rajt l-Ispirtu nieżel mis-sema bħal ħamiema u joqgħod fuqu. Tabilħaqq, anqas jien ma kont nafu; imma dak li bagħatni ngħammed bl-ilma, hu stess qalli: “Fuq min tara l-Ispirtu jinżel u joqgħod, dak hu li jgħammed bl-Ispirtu s-Santu”. Dan rajtu b’għajnejja, u għalhekk xhedt, dan hu l-Iben ta’ Alla”.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej  

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Behold, the Lamb of God!

Gospel Commentary by Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap, the Pontifical Household preacher

In this coming Sunday's Gospel we hear John the Baptist who, presenting Jesus to the world, exclaims: “Behold the lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world!”

The lamb, in the Bible, as in other cultures, is the symbol of being innocent; it cannot do evil to anyone but only suffer it. Following this symbolism, the first letter of Peter calls Christ “the lamb unspotted” (1:19) who, “reviled, did not revile; when he suffered, he threatened not” (2:23). Jesus, in other words, is par excellence the innocent one who suffers.

It has been written that the suffering of the innocent “is the rock of atheism.” After Auschwitz, the problem was posed in a still more acute way. There are countless books and dramas that have been written about this theme. It feels like being at a trial and hearing the voice of the judge ordering the defendant to stand up. The defendant in this case is God.

What does the faith have to say about all this? First of all, it is necessary that we all, believers and nonbelievers, adopt an attitude of humility, because if faith is not able to “explain” the suffering, much less is reason. The suffering of the innocent is something too pure and mysterious to try to close it up in one of our poor “explanations.” Jesus — who, as far as explanations go, certainly had more than us — faced with the suffering of the widow of Naim and the sisters of Lazarus, knew nothing better to do than to be moved and weep.

The Christian response to the problem of innocent suffering is wrapped up in one name: Jesus Christ! Jesus did not come to give us expert explanations about suffering, he came rather silently to take it upon himself. Taking it upon himself, however, he changed it entirely: from a sign of malediction, he made it an instrument of redemption. Even more: he made it the supreme value, the highest order of greatness in this world. After sin, the true greatness of the human creature is measured by the fact of bearing the least amount of guilt possible and the maximum amount of punishment possible. It is not so much in the one or the other taken separately — that is, in innocence or in suffering — as it is in the co-presence of the two in the same person. This is a type of suffering that brings us closer to God. Only God, in fact, if he suffers, suffers as innocent in an absolute sense.

Jesus, however, did not only give a meaning to innocent suffering, he also conferred a new power on it, a mysterious fruitfulness. Look at what flowed from the suffering of Christ: the resurrection and hope for the whole human race. But look also at what happens around us. How much energy and heroism is often brought out in a couple in the acceptance of a handicapped child, bedridden for years! How much unsuspected solidarity surrounds them! How much otherwise unknown capacity to love!

The most important thing, however, when we speak of innocent suffering, is not to explain it; it is not to increase it with our actions and our omissions. But neither is it enough not to increase innocent suffering; we must also try to relieve the innocent suffering that exists! Faced with a little girl frozen by the cold, who cries because of hunger pains, a man cried out in his heart one day to God: “Oh, God, where are you? Why don’t you do something for that innocent girl?” And God answered him: “I certainly have done something for her: I made you!”  [Translated from the Italian  by Joseph G. Trabbic]

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THIS IS MY BELOVED SON...

« January 12, 2020 »

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Lectionary: 21

Il-Magħmudija tal-Mulej - Festa

Reading 1        ISAIAH 42:1-4, 6-7

Thus says the LORD: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

Qari I       mill-Ktieb tal-Profeta Isaija 42, 1-4.6-7

Dan jgħid il-Mulej: “Araw il-qaddej tiegħi, li jiena nwieżen, il-maħtur tiegħi li fih qalbi strieħet! Qegħedt l-ispirtu tiegħi fuqu, biex iġib il-ġustizzja lill-ġnus. Ma jgħajjatx, ma jgħollix leħnu; ma jsemmax leħnu fil-pjazez, qasba mġelġla ma jiksirhiex, musbieħ inemnem ma jitfihx. Iġib il-ġustizzja fis-sewwa. Ma jegħjiex, ma jitfarrakx, sakemm ma jwaqqafx il-ġustizzja fuq l-art; u l-gżejjer imbiegħda jistennew il-liġi tiegħu. Jien il-Mulej, sejjaħtlek fis-sewwa, qbadtek minn idek u ħaristek, u għamilt minnek patt tal-poplu, dawl għall-ġnus, biex int tiftaħ għajnejn l-għomja, toħroġ lill-ilsiera mill-ħabs, u lil dawk li hemm fid-dlam minn dar l-għeluq”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm    PSALM 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10

Give to the LORD, you sons of God,

give to the LORD glory and praise,

Give to the LORD the glory due his name;

adore the LORD in holy attire.

R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.

The voice of the LORD is over the waters,

the LORD, over vast waters.

The voice of the LORD is mighty;

the voice of the LORD is majestic.

R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.

The God of glory thunders,

and in his temple all say, “Glory!”

The LORD is enthroned above the flood;

the LORD is enthroned as king forever.

R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Salm Responsorjali      Salm 28 (29), 1a-2.3ac-4.3b u 9b-10

R/. (11b): Il-Mulej ibierek il-poplu tiegħu bis-sliem

Agħtu lill-Mulej, ulied Alla,

agħtu lill-Mulej glorja u qawwa.

Agħtu lill-Mulej il-glorja ta’ ismu,

qimu l-Mulej fl-għamara mqaddsa tiegħu. R/.

Leħen il-Mulej fuq l-ibħra;

il-Mulej fuq l-ibħra kotrana.

Leħen il-Mulej bil-qawwa,

leħen il-Mulej bil-glorja. R/.

Alla tal-glorja jriegħed,

u fit-tempju tiegħu kulħadd jgħid: “Glorja!”.

Il-Mulej jaħkem fuq l-għargħar;

isaltan il-Mulej għal dejjem. R/.

Reading 2     ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 10:34-38

Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered in the house of Cornelius, saying: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism

that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

Qari II     mill-Atti tal-Appostli 10, 34-38

F’dak iż-żmien, Pietru qabad jitkellem u qal: “Issa tassew qiegħed nifhem li Alla ma jħares lejn wiċċ ħadd, imma jilqa’ lil kull min għandu l-biża’ tiegħu u jagħmel is-sewwa, ikun minn liema poplu jkun. Huwa bagħat il-Kelma tiegħu lil ulied Iżrael u xandrilhom is-sliem permezz ta’ Ġesù Kristu, li hu s-Sid ta’ kollox. Intom tafu b’dak li ġara mal-Lhudija kollha, ibda mill-Galilija, wara li Ġwanni kien xandar il-magħmudija; tafu kif Alla kkonsagra lil Ġesù ta’ Nażaret bl-Ispirtu s-Santu u bil-qawwa, u kif dan Ġesù għadda jagħmel il-ġid u jfejjaq lil dawk kollha li kienu maħkuma mix-xitan, għax Alla kien miegħu”. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel    MATTHEW 3:13-17

Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him.  After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Evanġelju          Qari skond San Mattew 3, 13-17

F’dak iż-żmien, Ġesù ġie mill-Galilija lejn il-Ġordan għand Ġwanni biex jitgħammed minnu. Imma Ġwanni ma ħalliehx, u qallu: “Jiena hu li jeħtieġ li nitgħammed minnek, u inti tiġi għandi?”. Ġesù qallu: “Inti għalissa ħallik minn dan, għax hekk jixraq nagħmlu, biex intemmu s-sewwa kollu”. Imbagħad Ġwanni ħallieh jitgħammed. Ġesù, wara li tgħammed, minnufih tala’ mill-ilma; u ara, is-smewwiet infetħu, u ra l-Ispirtu ta’ Alla nieżel qisu ħamiema u ġej għal fuqu. U mis-smewwiet instama’ leħen jgħid: “Dan hu Ibni l-għażiż: fih sibt l-għaxqa tiegħi”.  Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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///////////// REFLECTION      --      He Has Anointed Me

Gospel Commentary for the Baptism of the Lord by Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap, Pontifical Household preacher. 

Jesus himself gives an explanation of what happens to him in the baptism in the Jordan. Returned from the Jordan, in the synagogue at Nazareth he applies to himself the words of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me …” Peter uses the term “anointed” in the second reading, speaking about Jesus’ baptism. He says: “God has anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power.”

What we have here is a fundamental concept of the Christian faith. The name “Messiah” in Hebrew and “Christos” in Greek mean “anointed.” We ourselves, the ancient Fathers said, call ourselves Christians because we are anointed in imitation of Christ, the Anointed par excellence. In our language, the word “anointed” has many meanings and not all of them are positive. In antiquity, annointing was an important element in life. Athletes were anointed with oil so that they could be quick and agile in races and men and women were anointed with perfumed oil so that their faces were beautiful and resplendent. Today, for the same purposes, there is an infinity of products available and many of them are derived from various types of oils.

In Israel the rite had a religious significance. The kings, the priests and the prophets were anointed with perfumed oil and this was the sign that they were consecrated for divine service. In Christ all of these symbolic anointings become reality. In the baptism in the Jordan he is consecrated king, prophet and eternal priest by God the Father. This did not happen through the use of material oil but through spiritual oil, that is, through the Holy Spirit, “the oil of joy,” as a Psalm says. This explains why the Church highlights so much the annointing with sacred chrism. There is a rite of annointing in baptism, in confirmation, in the ordination of priests and there is the annointing of the sick (which was once called “extreme unction”). An annointing is administered in these rites because through them we participate in the annointing of Christ, that is, the fullness of the Holy Spirit. We literally become “Christians,” that is, anointed, consecrated, and people who are called, as Paul says, “to spread the sweet perfume of Christ in the world.”

Let us try to see what all of this says to us men of today. Today so-called aromatherapy is very much in fashion. It uses essential oils that emit a perfume to maintain health and as therapy for certain disturbances. The Internet is full of advertising about aromatherapy. There are perfumes for physical maladies, like stress; there are also “perfumes for the soul”; one of these is supposed to help us achieve “interior peace.”

It is not my place to make a judgment about this alternative medicine. However, I see that physicians discourage this practice, which is not scientifically confirmed and which in fact, in some cases, provokes counterindications. But what I would like to say is that there is a sure, infallible aromatherapy that does not provoke counterindications: that one made up of a special aroma, the perfumed ointment that is the Holy Spirit!

This aromatherapy of the Holy Spirit heals all the ills of the soul and sometimes, if God wills it, the ills of the body too. There is an African-American spiritual in which the following words are continually repeated: “There is a balm in Gilead / to make the wounded whole.” (In the Old Testament Gilead was a place famous for its perfumed ointments. Cf. Jeremiah 8:22.) The song continues: “Sometimes I feel discouraged / and think my work’s in vain / but then the Holy Spirit / revives my soul again.” For us, Gilead is the Church and the balm that heals is the Holy Spirit. He is the scent that Jesus has left behind, passing through this world.

The Holy Spirit is a specialist in the illnesses of marriage. Marriage consists in giving oneself to another; it is the sacrament of making of oneself a gift. Now, the Holy Spirit is the gift made person; he is the giving of the Father to the Son and the Son to the Father. Where he comes there is renewed the capacity to make a gift of oneself and with this the joy and the beauty of living together.

The philosopher Heidegger made an alarmed judgment about the future of human society: “Only a god can save us,” he said. I say that this God who can save us exists; it is the Holy Spirit. Our society has need of massive doses of the Holy Spirit.  [Translation from the Italian by Joseph G. Trabbic]

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