Id-29 Ħadd matul is-Sena
Messalin C
pp 421
In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel Israel
L-Ewwel
Lezzjoni - Qari
mill-Ktieb tal-Eżodu 17, 8-13
F'dak iż-żmien, il-poplu ta'
Għamalek qam u tqabad ma' Iżrael f'Rafidim. Mose' qal lil Ġożwe': "Agħżel irġiel u mur tqabad ma' Għamalek;
jien noqgħod wieqaf fuq il-quċċata
tal-għolja, bil-ħatar ta' Alla f'idi." Ġożwe' għamel kif qallu Mose', u
mar jitqabad mal-Għamalekin. Mose' Aron
u Ħur telgħu fuq il-quċċata tal-għolja. Kull meta Mose' kien jerfa' jdejh,
Iżrael kien jirbaħ; u kull meta kien iniżżel idejh, kienu jirbħu l-Għamalekin. Meta
idejn Mose' bdew jitqalu ħadu ġebla u qegħduhielu taħtu; u hu qagħad
bilqiegħda, waqt li Aron u Ħur żammewlu
dirgħajh, wieħed kull naħa
Responsorial
Psalm - PSALM 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. (cf. 2) Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth. R/
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth. R/
May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of
The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night. R/
The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever. R/
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever. R/
Salm
Responsorjali - SALM 120 (121)
R/ L-għajnuna
tiegħi mingħand il-Mulej
Nerfa'
għajnejja lejn l-għoljiet;
mnejn se
tiġini l-għajnuna?
L-għajnuna
tiegħi mingħand il-Mulej,
li għamel
is-sema u l-art. R/
Ma jħalli qatt li riġlek jogħtor;
ma jongħosx dak li jħarsek.
ara,
la jongħos u lanqas jorqod
dak li jħares lil Iżrael. R/
Il-Mulej hu dak li jħaresk;
il-Mulej hu d-dell tiegħek fuq
lemintek.
Ma tolqtokx ix-xemx binhar,
anqas il-qamar billejl. R/
Iħaresek il-Mulej minn
hu jħarislek ħajtek.
Il-Mulej iħarsek fil-ħruġ u d-dħul
tiegħek,
Reading
2 2 TiMothy 3:14-4:2
Beloved: Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because
you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the
sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for
teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so
that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work. I
charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the
living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the
word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand,
encourage through all patience and teaching.
This is the Word of The Lord.
It-Tieni
Lezzjoni - Qari
mit-Tieni Ittra lil Timotju 3, 16; 4,1-2
Għażiż,
ibqa' miexi f'dak li tgħallimt u emmint
bis-sħiħ, għax taf mingħand min tagħallimtu, u għax sa minn minn minn
Gospel LUKE 18:1-8
Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to
pray always without becoming weary. He
said, "There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor
respected any human being. And a
widow in that town used to come to him and say, 'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.' For a long time the judge
was unwilling, but eventually he thought, 'While it is true that I neither fear
God nor respect any human being, because
this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she
finally come and strike me.'" The
Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights
of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that
justice is done for them speedily. But
when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" This is the Word of The Lord.
L-Evanġelju - Qari mill-Evanġelju skont San Luqa 18,1-8
F'dak iż-żmien, Ġesu' qal parabbola
lid-dixxipli tiegħu biex jurihom li għandhom dejjem jitolb bla ma jaqtgħu. Qalilhom:
"Kien hemm f'belt wieħed imħallef, li la kien jibża' minn Alla u lanqas
iħabbel rasu minn minn
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Commentary
God Will Vindicate His Chosen Ones
Luke depicts Jesus at prayer right from the beginning
of his Gospel. Prayer becomes one of the ways by which we follow Jesus. Luke
insists on the importance of prayer for the Christian life. We must pray
unceasingly, for prayer is a sign of our faith in God. Prayer is not something
that we use to put pressure on God to get our own way. Authentic prayer opens
us up to the action of God's Spirit, bringing us in line with God's desires,
and making us into true disciples, obedient to Jesus and to the Father who has
sent him.
Two parables on prayer
In Sunday's Gospel, we find the first of two parables
on prayer that conclude the Lukan travel narrative. It is most likely that the
two parables existed separately and in other contexts. The first (18:1-8)
teaches the disciples the need of persistent prayer so that they not fall
victims to apostasy (v. 8). The second (18:9-14) condemns the self-righteous,
critical attitude of the Pharisee and teaches that the fundamental attitude of
the Christian disciple must be the recognition of sinfulness and complete
dependence on God's graciousness.
Verses 2-5 and 10-13 are the parables proper. Luke
has joined the two parables because they both deal with the subject of prayer.
Yet on closer reading, it is evident that both parables are about God's
vindication, i.e., God's upholding, justifying, exonerating and confirming.
According to the first parable, which is next Sunday's
Gospel (18:1-8), God will soon vindicate his chosen ones, but in the second
parable, it is not those who think of themselves as chosen or holy who are
vindicated but those who confess they are sinners. This placing of seemingly contrasting
stories back to back (vindication of holy ones/vindication of sinners) recalls
a previous structure in Luke. In Chapter 7, Luke moved directly from a story
about Jesus and "a woman of the city" to a report in Chapter 8 about
Jesus and women who participated in his ministry (8:1-3). Again in Chapter 10,
Luke joined two stories, one that said in effect "Go and do likewise"
(the Good Samaritan) and the second story set in Bethany
The judge and the widow
By means of the parable of the judge and the widow
(an image of helplessness in that culture, easily victimized by the powerful),
Jesus assures his followers that God "will vindicate them quickly"
(18:8). This parable is very similar to the parable of the friend at midnight
(11:5-8). As in the parable of the steward caught cheating, Sunday's lesson
involves a person not of commendable character. The movement of the parable is
from the lesser to the greater: If a cruel judge will give way to the
unrelenting pressure of the widow, how much more will God listen to the prayers
of his holy ones?
Both parables in Luke 18 present prayer as continual
and persistent, hurling its petitions against long periods of silence. Prayer
means asking, seeking, knocking and waiting, boundless trust and patience.
Those who pray sometimes become frustrated and angry that their supplications
are not heard. Yet life in the Christian community is possible only through a
life of prayer. The surprising thing about prayer is that its first effect is
in us. Our own minds and hearts are shaped by prayer as we seek opportunities
to translate that prayer into practice, the true test of its authenticity.
The saints allowed God's will to be done in their
lives on a daily basis. The Lord worked through their doubts, strengths and
human weaknesses to unite the Church. Their action on Jesus' behalf was all
very positive, hopeful, courageous, and straightforward. Their active faith in
him and their decisive following of him are the unchanging quintessence of the
Church's vocation.
Pope John Paul II once said of Canada
Like Aaron and Hur in the Book of Exodus, may the
saints – like Blessed Andre - support our hands and arms when we grow tired in
prayer (Exodus 17:8-13), and help us to become friends of Jesus and faithful
witnesses of the Gospel in our own day.
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