Reading 1 GN 18:20-32 In those days, the LORD said: "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out."
While Abraham's visitors walked on farther toward Sodom, the LORD remained standing before Abraham. Then Abraham drew nearer and said: "Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty? Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city; would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to make the innocent die with the guilty so that the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike! Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?" The LORD replied, "If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." Abraham spoke up again: "See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes! What if there are five less than fifty innocent people? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?" He answered, "I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five there." But Abraham persisted, saying "What if only forty are found there?" He replied, "I will forbear doing it for the sake of the forty." Then Abraham said, "Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on. What if only thirty are found there?" He replied, "I will forbear doing it if I can find but thirty there." Still Abraham went on, "Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord, what if there are no more than twenty?" The LORD answered, "I will not destroy it, for the sake of the twenty." But he still persisted: "Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time. What if there are at least ten there?" He replied, "For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it." Responsorial Psalm PS 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8 R.(3a) Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me. I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart, for you have heard the words of my mouth; in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple and give thanks to your name. R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me. Because of your kindness and your truth; for you have made great above all things your name and your promise. When I called you answered me; you built up strength within me. R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me. The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees, and the proud he knows from afar. Though I walk amid distress, you preserve me; against the anger of my enemies you raise your hand. R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me. Your right hand saves me. The LORD will complete what he has done for me; your kindness, O LORD, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands. R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me. Reading 2 COL 2:12-14 Brothers and sisters: You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And even when you were dead in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our transgressions; obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims, which was opposed to us, he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. You have received a Spirit of adoption, through which we cry, Abba, Father. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 11:1-13 Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test."
And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,' and he says in reply from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.' I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.
"And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER How many times have we asked and not obtained - we all have experience - how many times have we knocked and found a door closed? Jesus recommends us, in those moments, to insist and not to give ourselves up. Prayer always transforms reality, always. We can be sure that God will respond. The only uncertainty is due to the times, but we do not doubt that He will respond. Perhaps it will be up to us to insist for the rest of our lives, but He will respond. He promised us: He is not like a father who gives a snake instead of a fish. There is nothing more certain: the desire for happiness that we all carry in our hearts will one day be fulfilled". (General Audience, 9 January 2019)
FAUSTI - The mission of the "Samaritan" will be accomplished only when all men say "Abba, Father!" This is the word that generates us in our truth of sons. Jesus has come to teach us this, if we listen to Him like Mary. After having unveiled to us His mystery as Son and Brother, with this prayer He makes us enter into the fatherhood of God: in this prayer we desire what we need to live it. This is what He Himself offers to us in the Eucharist, in which He offers Himself as food. Only at the end will the prayer of asking for the bread and the Spirit cease, because we will have His fullness of life. Then we will exult with Him in the Spirit. This prayer is a direct dialogue between a "You" who is the Father and a "us" who is the true I, inasmuch as it is in communion with the Son and with our brothers and sisters. In Jesus I can resume answering "You" to the Father who in His infinite love has always addressed His Word to me. In this "You" that I address to the Father, in solidarity with me of His Son, I also find the "we" of the brothers. The discovery of paternity founds and builds fraternity. Without the "You" there is no prayer. And neither is there man, who is an escape from himself or an answer to the "you" that God addresses to him. But even without the "we" there is no prayer, because one cannot stand before the Father separated from the Son and from one's brothers and sisters. With this prayer we say "here I am" to our truth as children, and we recognize our hidden identity. "Abba" is the first word that the infant babbles, his first nod of communication, joyful surprise of those who listen to it with love. God is the Father of Mercies, who is propitious to us and loves us more than Himself. The colour of Christian life is His paternal smile, His tenderness towards us and our trust in Him. We come from God and return to Him. We come from the splendour of His Love and we are on our way to return to Him. Our life is desire and search for the One who lets Himself be desired and seek only because we overcome the deception that made us escape from Him. In Him we find our source that nourishes us with delights. "Abba" is God's ineffable word, which the Word says in Love for the Father, of which He is precisely the Word of Love. It is the ecstasy of the Son in the Father. God will always be our Father, because the Son has definitively become our brother. For this reason, to call God "Abba" is to know and proclaim the love for me of Jesus, my Lord. It is to be in communion with Him who has taken charge of me. It is to recognize the gift that has participated to me in Him, the Son, in Whom I exist and am what I am. Outside of him, I am not what I am and I am what I am not. The reality of this sonship is the Spirit of God, poured into our hearts, that groans in us with ineffable groans (Rom 5:5). To cry out "Abba" is faith in the Son who loved us and gave Himself for us (Gal 2:20); it is certain hope of a new world in which the lord is Lord and we are all brothers and sisters, it is love as a response to the Father and to all His children; It is the joy of returning to home, it is the richness of every blessing, it is the satiety of every desire and desire of every satiety, it is participating in the banquet with the most beautiful clothing, with the ring and the sandals, eating the sacrificed calf, it is the feast with symphony and dances that the Father has prepared for His lost son. To pray in a spirit of truth this prayer, is already the very fulfillment of every prayer. In fact, by calling God by the name of Father, we accept his fatherhood and ask Him for that bread which is always necessary every day: His love and forgiveness to love and forgive our brothers and sisters. What we ask for in the "Our Father" is already accomplished and given to us in the Son: the sanctification of the Name, the Kingdom, the bread, forgiveness and the power of trust.
RispondiEliminaReading 1 GN 18:20-32
In those days, the LORD said: "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great,
and their sin so grave,
that I must go down and see whether or not their actions
fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me.
I mean to find out."
While Abraham's visitors walked on farther toward Sodom,
the LORD remained standing before Abraham.
Then Abraham drew nearer and said:
"Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty?
Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city;
would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it
for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it?
Far be it from you to do such a thing,
to make the innocent die with the guilty
so that the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike!
Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?"
The LORD replied,
"If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom,
I will spare the whole place for their sake."
Abraham spoke up again:
"See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord,
though I am but dust and ashes!
What if there are five less than fifty innocent people?
Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?"
He answered, "I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five there."
But Abraham persisted, saying "What if only forty are found there?"
He replied, "I will forbear doing it for the sake of the forty."
Then Abraham said, "Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on.
What if only thirty are found there?"
He replied, "I will forbear doing it if I can find but thirty there."
Still Abraham went on,
"Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord,
what if there are no more than twenty?"
The LORD answered, "I will not destroy it, for the sake of the twenty."
But he still persisted:
"Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time.
What if there are at least ten there?"
He replied, "For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it."
Responsorial Psalm PS 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8
R.(3a) Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Though I walk amid distress, you preserve me;
against the anger of my enemies you raise your hand.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Reading 2 COL 2:12-14
Brothers and sisters:
You were buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead.
And even when you were dead
in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
he brought you to life along with him,
having forgiven us all our transgressions;
obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims,
which was opposed to us,
he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
RispondiEliminaYou have received a Spirit of adoption,
through which we cry, Abba, Father.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel LK 11:1-13
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test."
And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,'
and he says in reply from within,
'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.'
I tell you,
if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.
"And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
How many times have we asked and not obtained - we all have experience - how many times have we knocked and found a door closed? Jesus recommends us, in those moments, to insist and not to give ourselves up. Prayer always transforms reality, always. We can be sure that God will respond. The only uncertainty is due to the times, but we do not doubt that He will respond. Perhaps it will be up to us to insist for the rest of our lives, but He will respond. He promised us: He is not like a father who gives a snake instead of a fish. There is nothing more certain: the desire for happiness that we all carry in our hearts will one day be fulfilled". (General Audience, 9 January 2019)
FAUSTI - The mission of the "Samaritan" will be accomplished only when all men say "Abba, Father!" This is the word that generates us in our truth of sons.
RispondiEliminaJesus has come to teach us this, if we listen to Him like Mary. After having unveiled to us His mystery as Son and Brother, with this prayer He makes us enter into the fatherhood of God: in this prayer we desire what we need to live it. This is what He Himself offers to us in the Eucharist, in which He offers Himself as food. Only at the end will the prayer of asking for the bread and the Spirit cease, because we will have His fullness of life. Then we will exult with Him in the Spirit.
This prayer is a direct dialogue between a "You" who is the Father and a "us" who is the true I, inasmuch as it is in communion with the Son and with our brothers and sisters.
In Jesus I can resume answering "You" to the Father who in His infinite love has always addressed His Word to me.
In this "You" that I address to the Father, in solidarity with me of His Son, I also find the "we" of the brothers. The discovery of paternity founds and builds fraternity.
Without the "You" there is no prayer. And neither is there man, who is an escape from himself or an answer to the "you" that God addresses to him.
But even without the "we" there is no prayer, because one cannot stand before the Father separated from the Son and from one's brothers and sisters.
With this prayer we say "here I am" to our truth as children, and we recognize our hidden identity. "Abba" is the first word that the infant babbles, his first nod of communication, joyful surprise of those who listen to it with love.
God is the Father of Mercies, who is propitious to us and loves us more than Himself.
The colour of Christian life is His paternal smile, His tenderness towards us and our trust in Him. We come from God and return to Him. We come from the splendour of His Love and we are on our way to return to Him. Our life is desire and search for the One who lets Himself be desired and seek only because we overcome the deception that made us escape from Him.
In Him we find our source that nourishes us with delights.
"Abba" is God's ineffable word, which the Word says in Love for the Father, of which He is precisely the Word of Love. It is the ecstasy of the Son in the Father. God will always be our Father, because the Son has definitively become our brother. For this reason, to call God "Abba" is to know and proclaim the love for me of Jesus, my Lord. It is to be in communion with Him who has taken charge of me.
It is to recognize the gift that has participated to me in Him, the Son, in Whom I exist and am what I am.
Outside of him, I am not what I am and I am what I am not.
The reality of this sonship is the Spirit of God, poured into our hearts, that groans in us with ineffable groans (Rom 5:5). To cry out "Abba" is faith in the Son who loved us and gave Himself for us (Gal 2:20); it is certain hope of a new world in which the lord is Lord and we are all brothers and sisters, it is love as a response to the Father and to all His children; It is the joy of returning to home, it is the richness of every blessing, it is the satiety of every desire and desire of every satiety, it is participating in the banquet with the most beautiful clothing, with the ring and the sandals, eating the sacrificed calf, it is the feast with symphony and dances that the Father has prepared for His lost son.
To pray in a spirit of truth this prayer, is already the very fulfillment of every prayer.
In fact, by calling God by the name of Father, we accept his fatherhood and ask Him for that bread which is always necessary every day: His love and forgiveness to love and forgive our brothers and sisters.
What we ask for in the "Our Father" is already accomplished and given to us in the Son: the sanctification of the Name, the Kingdom, the bread, forgiveness and the power of trust.