READING OF THE DAY A reading from the Book of Exodus EX 32:7-11, 13-14
The LORD said to Moses, "Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, 'This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!' "I see how stiff-necked this people is, " continued the LORD to Moses. Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation."
But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, "Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand? Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.'" So the LORD relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people.
A reading from the first letter to Timothy 1 TM 1:12-17
Beloved: I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me trustworthy in appointing me to the ministry. I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant, but I have been mercifully treated because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief. Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost. But for that reason I was mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life. To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY From the Gospel according to Luke
LK 15:1-32
Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them he addressed this parable. “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.
“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Then he said, “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns, who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER The Lord cannot accept the fact that a single person can be lost. God’s action is that of one who goes out seeking his lost children and then rejoices and celebrates with everyone at their recovery. It is a burning desire: not even ninety-nine sheep could stop the shepherd and keep him enclosed in the fold. He might reason like this: “Let me do the sum: If I have ninety-nine of them, I have lost one, but that’s no great loss”. Nevertheless, he goes looking for that one, because every one is very important to him and that one is in the most need, is the most abandoned, most discarded; and he goes to look for it. (General Audience, 4 May 2016)
FAUSTI - The chapter 15 is a single parable in three scenes. It reveals the center of the Gospel: God as the Father of tenderness and mercy, very different from that from which Adam had fled out by fear. He is filled with joy when He sees the furthest son coming home, and invites everyone to act with Him: "We must celebrate! The banquet of the previous chapter is this feast of the Father, Who now sees the last place in the table occupied: His house is full, His heart overflows: in the return of the last, every lost child is now with Him. The Church of Luke must always remember that She is not a welcome of the just people, but a community of sinners open to forgiveness. The three scenes of the parable present a certain symmetry with the three calls to the banquet (14:15...). That of the lost sheep corresponds to the second call, addressed to the lost sheep of Israel, that of the drachma corresponds to the third call, addressed to the pagans. In reality, the sheep has not converted, as the drachma does not return by itself in the purse. They are simply found, precisely because they are lost, by the One who first converted Himself to them in His Love. To convert is to turn one's gaze from one's self to God, and to see, instead of one's nakedness, the eye of the One who has always looked to us with Love. Then new life is born, in the praise and joy of the Father. Those who err in the desert have not let themselves be found by mercy. Closed in their own selves and swollen with death, they do not enter through the narrow door of mercy, those who seek their righteousness in the law, have nothing to do with Christ (Gal 5:4), they are outside the grace of the Father and His feast for the son. The place of those who were called first, the Israel of the Law, is still empty. He is the older brother, the figure of every believer, to whom the whole parable is addressed, especially the last scene, so that he may participate in the banquet of salvation, in the feast and in the dance for the lost and found, dead and risen son. Paul summarizes the baptismal Catechesis with the words: "be kind to one another, merciful, gracious to one another as God has graced you in Christ. (Eph 4:32). The Eucharist, food and new life for the Christian is bread and forgiveness: received and eaten by every sinner, it is rejected only by those who are satisfied with themselves. God's Mercy sends him back empty-handed (Lk 1:53) so that he may be among the hungry who are satisfied. (6,21). It is the cunning that God uses with cunning, so as to open the mouth to all his children and fill it with his gift (Ps 81:11). In this way God forces everyone to enter His feast, while leaving them free. He draws to Himself, showing a boundless Love, beyond all death (Jn 12:32). Luke is the Evangelist of Joy, the Father's corresponding Joy for the Son. This Joy is the Holy Spirit, the Life of Love common to both of them. In the Eucharistic Banquet, con-eating with Jesus, we identify with Him, the Son Lost and Found, Dead and Risen. In the Son, lost to his brothers and sisters, the Father found all his sons and daughters. Let us enter into the feast of God!
Lord, an eternity will not suffice to thank You for Your call! And of all that You give us, in Your infinite Love!
READING OF THE DAY
RispondiEliminaA reading from the Book of Exodus
EX 32:7-11, 13-14
The LORD said to Moses,
"Go down at once to your people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
'This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'
"I see how stiff-necked this people is, " continued the LORD to Moses.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation."
But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
"Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.'"
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people.
A reading from the first letter to Timothy
1 TM 1:12-17
Beloved:
I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,
because he considered me trustworthy
in appointing me to the ministry.
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant,
but I have been mercifully treated
because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.
Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant,
along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Of these I am the foremost.
But for that reason I was mercifully treated,
so that in me, as the foremost,
Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example
for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.
To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God,
honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
RispondiEliminaFrom the Gospel according to Luke
LK 15:1-32
Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So to them he addressed this parable.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.
“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”
Then he said,
“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,
‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’
So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings
and set off to a distant country
where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
When he had freely spent everything,
a severe famine struck that country,
and he found himself in dire need.
So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens
who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,
but nobody gave him any.
Coming to his senses he thought,
‘How many of my father’s hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’
So he got up and went back to his father.
While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him,
and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
His son said to him,
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;
I no longer deserve to be called your son.’
But his father ordered his servants,
‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him;
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.
Then let us celebrate with a feast,
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.’
Then the celebration began.
Now the older son had been out in the field
and, on his way back, as he neared the house,
he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
The servant said to him,
‘Your brother has returned
and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf
because he has him back safe and sound.’
He became angry,
and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him.
He said to his father in reply,
‘Look, all these years I served you
and not once did I disobey your orders;
yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns,
who swallowed up your property with prostitutes,
for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’
He said to him,
‘My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours.
But now we must celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother was dead and has come to life again;
he was lost and has been found.’”
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
RispondiEliminaThe Lord cannot accept the fact that a single person can be lost. God’s action is that of one who goes out seeking his lost children and then rejoices and celebrates with everyone at their recovery.
It is a burning desire: not even ninety-nine sheep could stop the shepherd and keep him enclosed in the fold. He might reason like this: “Let me do the sum: If I have ninety-nine of them, I have lost one, but that’s no great loss”. Nevertheless, he goes looking for that one, because every one is very important to him and that one is in the most need, is the most abandoned, most discarded; and he goes to look for it. (General Audience, 4 May 2016)
FAUSTI - The chapter 15 is a single parable in three scenes. It reveals the center of the Gospel: God as the Father of tenderness and mercy, very different from that from which Adam had fled out by fear.
RispondiEliminaHe is filled with joy when He sees the furthest son coming home, and invites everyone to act with Him: "We must celebrate! The banquet of the previous chapter is this feast of the Father, Who now sees the last place in the table occupied: His house is full, His heart overflows: in the return of the last, every lost child is now with Him. The Church of Luke must always remember that She is not a welcome of the just people, but a community of sinners open to forgiveness.
The three scenes of the parable present a certain symmetry with the three calls to the banquet (14:15...). That of the lost sheep corresponds to the second call, addressed to the lost sheep of Israel, that of the drachma corresponds to the third call, addressed to the pagans. In reality, the sheep has not converted, as the drachma does not return by itself in the purse. They are simply found, precisely because they are lost, by the One who first converted Himself to them in His Love.
To convert is to turn one's gaze from one's self to God, and to see, instead of one's nakedness, the eye of the One who has always looked to us with Love.
Then new life is born, in the praise and joy of the Father.
Those who err in the desert have not let themselves be found by mercy.
Closed in their own selves and swollen with death, they do not enter through the narrow door of mercy, those who seek their righteousness in the law, have nothing to do with Christ (Gal 5:4), they are outside the grace of the Father and His feast for the son.
The place of those who were called first, the Israel of the Law, is still empty.
He is the older brother, the figure of every believer, to whom the whole parable is addressed, especially the last scene, so that he may participate in the banquet of salvation, in the feast and in the dance for the lost and found, dead and risen son.
Paul summarizes the baptismal Catechesis with the words: "be kind to one another, merciful, gracious to one another as God has graced you in Christ. (Eph 4:32).
The Eucharist, food and new life for the Christian is bread and forgiveness: received and eaten by every sinner, it is rejected only by those who are satisfied with themselves.
God's Mercy sends him back empty-handed (Lk 1:53) so that he may be among the hungry who are satisfied. (6,21). It is the cunning that God uses with cunning, so as to open the mouth to all his children and fill it with his gift (Ps 81:11).
In this way God forces everyone to enter His feast, while leaving them free.
He draws to Himself, showing a boundless Love, beyond all death (Jn 12:32).
Luke is the Evangelist of Joy, the Father's corresponding Joy for the Son.
This Joy is the Holy Spirit, the Life of Love common to both of them.
In the Eucharistic Banquet, con-eating with Jesus, we identify with Him, the Son Lost and Found, Dead and Risen.
In the Son, lost to his brothers and sisters, the Father found all his sons and daughters. Let us enter into the feast of God!
Lord, an eternity will not suffice to thank You for Your call! And of all that You give us, in Your infinite Love!