Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Sir 35:12-14, 16-18 The LORD is a God of justice, who knows no favorites. Though not unduly partial toward the weak, yet he hears the cry of the oppressed. The Lord is not deaf to the wail of the orphan, nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint. The one who serves God willingly is heard; his petition reaches the heavens. The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal, nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds, judges justly and affirms the right, and the Lord will not delay.
Responsorial Psalm 34
R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor. I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. Let my soul glory in the LORD; the lowly will hear me and be glad. R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor. The LORD confronts the evildoers, to destroy remembrance of them from the earth. When the just cry out, the LORD hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them. R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves. The LORD redeems the lives of his servants; no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him. R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Reading 2 2 Tm 4:6-8, 16-18 Beloved: I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance. At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them! But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Alleluia 2 Cor 5:19 R. Alleluia, alleluia. God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, and entrusting to us the message of salvation. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 18:9-14 Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. "Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity -- greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.' But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
FAUSTI - In this diptych we have two models of faith and prayer. On the one hand the Pharisee, who prays before his own self. Confident of his own goodness, he justifies himself and condemns other people. On the other hand the publican, who, feeling distant from God and unable to trust in himself, accuses himself and invokes forgiveness. Similar to that of lepers and of the blind, is the prayer that purifies and enlightens, introducing to Jerusalem. It is a prayer with two poles: His Mercy and my misery. Humility is the unique quality capable of attracting the Most High: it makes me a vessel, which, emptied of the "I", can be filled by God. This prayer of a publican will be mine when I discover my sin of Pharisee.One does not consider oneself a sinner, but "the" sinner, "the most responsible of all". The rest are for him, unlike the Pharisee, all righteous. All the characters of Luke's Gospel can refer to these two figures, which represent respectively the impossibility and the possibility of salvation. In fact, more exactly: we serious Christians are all twin brothers of the Pharisee, the presumed righteous, whom Jesus wants to convert into a self-confessed offender, so that he may accept grace. Jesus reveals to the Pharisee how he is, putting a mirror in front of him. All the characters of Luke's Gospel can refer to these two figures, which represent respectively the impossibility and the possibility of salvation. In fact, more exactly: we serious Christians are all twin brothers of the Pharisee, the presumed righteous, whom Jesus wants to convert into a confessed offender, so that he may accept grace. Jesus reveals to the Pharisee how he is, putting a mirror in front of him: the publican, in which he doesn't want to recognize himself, it's the deep part of his ego that he doesn't accept. Luke's Gospel encourages this acknowledgement in a scandalous way, condemning the just and justifying the sinner. The righteous is condemned because, in the effort to observe the prescriptions of the Law, he neglects the commandment from which they arise: the love of God and of one's neighbor. The sinner, on the other hand, is justified. This is the true scandal of the Gospel, which allows us to accept our reality as sinners in that of God Who loves us unconditionally - not for our merits, but for His Love as a Father. The faith and prayer that introduce into the Kingdom are based on this trusting humility, the fruit of the new knowledge of oneself and of God. In fact, without humility, prayer is of the I and not of God, trust is in itself and not in Him. The first is self-glorification, the second is presumption. This account helps us to discern our prayer. This is true when, recognizing ourselves in the Pharisee, we make our own the prayer of the publican. The humility that Luke requires of every believer is to recognize his own humiliating pride of Pharisee.
D. OLIVERO Jesus, in his teaching presented God as a Father whose love is attracted not by the merits of people, but by the needs of people. This is what the evangelist Luke expresses in chapter 18, verses 9-14. We read. At that time, Jesus again told this parable. And the parable has a very specific address, for some who had the intimate presumption that themselves were righteous and despised others. So Jesus addresses this message to those who feel they are righteous. Righteous means-from a religious point of view-those who consider themselves to be consider themselves completely right with God based on their religious practice, based on their situation, and because of that they despise others. This is typical of religious people. How much one feels so right with God, he then allows himself to judge, condemn and then despise others others. And it is to these kinds of people, so the very pious, very religious people, that Jesus addresses this parable. "Two men went up to the temple to pray: one was a Pharisee and the other a publican." Jesus presents the opposites of religious and civil society at the time. The term Pharisee means separate. Who were the Pharisees? They were laymen who were committed to observing in daily life all the precepts, laws and observances prescribed in the law. They had extrapolated as many as 613 of them. They were careful not to eat anything unclean, they were scrupulous observers of Sabbath rest. They were the ultimate saints. So the Pharisee is the person who holds himself-and is held to be-the closest to God. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the publican. Publican comes from "publicum, "the public thing. They were the duty collectors; they were considered professional thieves, serving often the pagan rulers; they were considered the transgressors of all the commandments and had as a mark of impurity for which for them there was there was no hope of salvation. Even if a publican was converted tomorrow, he could no longer change his trade and then for him there was no hope of salvation. So Jesus presents the two opposites. The one closest to God, and not the one furthest away, but even the one excluded from God. "The Pharisee, standing, prayed thus to himself..." Literally the evangelist writes "he prayed toward himself." The Pharisee's prayer is not addressed to God, but he has made himself his own God, his own idol. His is a useless unraveling of the useless virtues that Jesus does not require, that God does not require.
ANGELUS 24 October 2010 This morning at the Vatican Basilica the solemn Celebration concluded the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops with the theme with the slogan: “The Catholic Church in the Middle East: communion and witness”. Moreover this Sunday is also World Mission Day: “The construction of Ecclesial Communion is the key to the Mission”. This motto displays a similarity between the themes of both ecclesial events. Each invite us to look at the Church as a mystery of communion that, by her nature, is destined for the whole person and for all people. The Servant of God Pope Paul vi stated the Church “exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ's sacrifice in Holy Mass, which is the memorial of His death and glorious resurrection” (Apostolic Exortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 8 -12 -1975, ). So the next Ordinary General Synod of Bishops in 2012 will have the theme: “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith”. At any time or any place, even today in the Middle East, the Church is present and works to welcome every person and offer him/her the fullness of life in Christ. As the Italian-German theologian Romano Guardini once wrote, “The reality of the ‘Church’ implies a complete fullness of being Christian, which grows as it embraces the fullness the human being in relation to GOD.
Dear friends, in the today's Liturgy we read the testimony of St Paul concerning the final reward that the Lord will grant “to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Tim 4:8). This testimony does not mean an idle or solitary waiting. Quite the contrary! The Apostle lived in communion with the Risen Christ to “proclaim the Word [Gospel] fully” so that “all the Gentiles might hear it” (2 Tim 4:17). The missionary task is not to revolutionize the world, rather to transfigure it, drawing upon the strength of Jesus Christ who “summons us to the banquet of his word and of the Eucharist, to taste the gift of his presence, to be formed at his school and to live ever more closely united to him, our teacher and Lord” (Message for the 84th World Mission Sunday). Also, Christians of today – as it is written in the Epistle to Diognetus – “show how marvellous and... extraordinary their associated life is. They spend their life on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the established laws, but in their way of living go beyond these laws... They are condemned to death, from which they draw life. While doing good, they are... persecuted and they grow in number every day” .
To the Virgin Mary, that from Jesus crucified received the new mission to be the Mother of all those who desire to believe in and follow Him, we entrust the Christian community of the Middle East and all missionaries of the Gospel.
The second Reading of the day’s Liturgy presents to us Saint Paul’s exhortation to Timothy, his collaborator and chosen son, in which he thinks back on his existence as an Apostle wholly consecrated to the mission (cf. 2 Tim 4:6-8, 16-18). Now seeing the end of his earthly journey, he describes it in reference to three seasons: the present, past and future.
The present he interprets with the metaphor of sacrifice: “For I am already on the point of being sacrificed” (v. 6). With regard to the past, Paul points to his life lived with the images of the “good fight” and the “race” of a man who has been coherent with his duties and his responsibilities (cf. v. 7); as a result, for the future he trusts in being recognized by God who is “the righteous judge” (v. 8). But Paul’s mission has been effective, just and faithful only thanks to the closeness and the strength of the Lord, who has made of him a proclaimer of the Gospel to all peoples. This is his expression: “the Lord stood by me and gave me strength to proclaim the Gospel fully, that all the peoples might hear it” (cf. v. 17).
In this autobiographical account by Saint Paul the Church is reflected, especially today, World Mission Sunday, the theme of which is “Missionary Church, Witness of Mercy”. In Paul the Christian community finds its model, in the conviction that the Lord’s presence makes apostolic work and the work of evangelization effective. The experience of the Apostle of the people reminds us that we must be committed in pastoral and missionary activities, on the one hand, as if the result depends on our efforts, with the spirit of sacrifice of an athlete, who never stops even in the face of challenges; on the other, however, knowing that the true success of our mission is a gift of Grace: it is the Holy Spirit who makes the Church’s mission in the world effective.
Today is a time of mission and a time of courage! Courage to strengthen faltering steps, to recapture the enthusiasm of devoting oneself to the Gospel, of recovering confidence in the strength that the mission brings to bear. It is a time of courage, even if having courage does not mean having a guarantee of success. Courage is required of us in order to fight, not necessarily to win; in order to proclaim, not necessarily to convert. Courage is required of us in order to open ourselves to everyone, never diminishing the absoluteness and uniqueness of Christ, the one saviour of all. Courage is required of us in order to withstand incredulity, without becoming arrogant. Required of us too is the courage of the tax collector in today’s Gospel, who humbly did not dare even to raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying: “God, be merciful to me a sinner!”. Today is a time for courage! Today courage is needed!
May the Virgin Mary, model of the Church “that goes forth” and of docility to the Holy Spirit, help us all to be, in the strength of our Baptism, missionary disciples in order to bring the message of salvation to the entire human family.
We are a bit tax collectors because we are sinners, and a bit Pharisees because we are presumptuous, able to justify ourselves, masters of the art of self-justification. This may often work with ourselves, but not with God. This trick does not work with God. Let us pray for the grace to experience ourselves in need of mercy, interiorly poor. For this reason too, we do well to associate with the poor, to remind ourselves that we are poor, to remind ourselves that the salvation of God operates only in an atmosphere of interior poverty. (Homily, Conclusion of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, 27 Oct 2019)
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
RispondiEliminaReading 1
Sir 35:12-14, 16-18
The LORD is a God of justice,
who knows no favorites.
Though not unduly partial toward the weak,
yet he hears the cry of the oppressed.
The Lord is not deaf to the wail of the orphan,
nor to the widow when she pours out her complaint.
The one who serves God willingly is heard;
his petition reaches the heavens.
The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds;
it does not rest till it reaches its goal,
nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds,
judges justly and affirms the right,
and the Lord will not delay.
Responsorial Psalm 34
R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Reading 2
2 Tm 4:6-8, 16-18
Beloved:
I am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf,
but everyone deserted me.
May it not be held against them!
But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was rescued from the lion's mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat
and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Alleluia
2 Cor 5:19
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
and entrusting to us the message of salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Lk 18:9-14
Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity --
greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.'
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."
FAUSTI - In this diptych we have two models of faith and prayer.
RispondiEliminaOn the one hand the Pharisee, who prays before his own self. Confident of his own goodness, he justifies himself and condemns other people.
On the other hand the publican, who, feeling distant from God and unable to trust in himself, accuses himself and invokes forgiveness.
Similar to that of lepers and of the blind, is the prayer that purifies and enlightens, introducing to Jerusalem.
It is a prayer with two poles: His Mercy and my misery.
Humility is the unique quality capable of attracting the Most High: it makes me a vessel, which, emptied of the "I", can be filled by God.
This prayer of a publican will be mine when I discover my sin of Pharisee.One does not consider oneself a sinner, but "the" sinner, "the most responsible of all".
The rest are for him, unlike the Pharisee, all righteous.
All the characters of Luke's Gospel can refer to these two figures, which represent respectively the impossibility and the possibility of salvation.
In fact, more exactly: we serious Christians are all twin brothers of the Pharisee, the presumed righteous, whom Jesus wants to convert into a self-confessed offender, so that he may accept grace.
Jesus reveals to the Pharisee how he is, putting a mirror in front of him.
All the characters of Luke's Gospel can refer to these two figures, which represent respectively the impossibility and the possibility of salvation.
In fact, more exactly: we serious Christians are all twin brothers of the Pharisee, the presumed righteous, whom Jesus wants to convert into a confessed offender, so that he may accept grace.
Jesus reveals to the Pharisee how he is, putting a mirror in front of him:
the publican, in which he doesn't want to recognize himself, it's the deep part of his ego that he doesn't accept.
Luke's Gospel encourages this acknowledgement in a scandalous way, condemning the just and justifying the sinner.
The righteous is condemned because, in the effort to observe the prescriptions of the Law, he neglects the commandment from which they arise: the love of God and of one's neighbor.
The sinner, on the other hand, is justified.
This is the true scandal of the Gospel, which allows us to accept our reality as sinners in that of God Who loves us unconditionally - not for our merits, but for His Love as a Father.
The faith and prayer that introduce into the Kingdom are based on this trusting humility, the fruit of the new knowledge of oneself and of God.
In fact, without humility, prayer is of the I and not of God, trust is in itself and not in Him.
The first is self-glorification, the second is presumption.
This account helps us to discern our prayer.
This is true when, recognizing ourselves in the Pharisee, we make our own the prayer of the publican.
The humility that Luke requires of every believer is to recognize his own humiliating pride of Pharisee.
D. OLIVERO Jesus, in his teaching presented God as a Father whose love is attracted not by the merits
RispondiEliminaof people, but by the needs of people. This is what the evangelist Luke expresses in chapter 18, verses 9-14.
We read.
At that time, Jesus again told this parable. And the parable has a very specific address, for
some
who had the intimate presumption that themselves were righteous and despised others. So Jesus addresses
this
message to those who feel they are righteous. Righteous means-from a religious point of view-those who consider themselves to be
consider themselves completely right with God based on their religious practice, based on their situation,
and because of that they despise others. This is typical of religious people.
How much one feels so right with God, he then allows himself to judge, condemn and then despise others
others. And it is to these kinds of people, so the very pious, very religious people, that Jesus addresses this
parable.
"Two men went up to the temple to pray: one was a Pharisee and the other a publican." Jesus presents the
opposites of religious and civil society at the time. The term Pharisee means separate. Who were the Pharisees?
They were laymen who were committed to observing in daily life all the precepts, laws and observances
prescribed in the law.
They had extrapolated as many as 613 of them. They were careful not to eat anything unclean, they were
scrupulous observers of Sabbath rest. They were the ultimate saints. So the Pharisee is the person who
holds himself-and is held to be-the closest to God.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is the publican. Publican comes from "publicum, "the public thing. They were the duty collectors;
they were considered professional thieves, serving often the pagan rulers; they were considered the transgressors of all the commandments and had as a mark of impurity for which for them there was
there was no hope of salvation.
Even if a publican was converted tomorrow, he could no longer change his trade and
then for him there was no hope of salvation.
So Jesus presents the two opposites. The one closest to God, and not the one furthest away, but even the one excluded from
God.
"The Pharisee, standing, prayed thus to himself..." Literally the evangelist writes "he prayed toward
himself." The Pharisee's prayer is not addressed to God, but he has made himself his own God, his own
idol. His is a useless unraveling of the useless virtues that Jesus does not require, that God does not require.
BENEDICT XVI
RispondiEliminaANGELUS 24 October 2010
This morning at the Vatican Basilica the solemn Celebration concluded the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops with the theme with the slogan: “The Catholic Church in the Middle East: communion and witness”. Moreover this Sunday is also World Mission Day: “The construction of Ecclesial Communion is the key to the Mission”. This motto displays a similarity between the themes of both ecclesial events. Each invite us to look at the Church as a mystery of communion that, by her nature, is destined for the whole person and for all people. The Servant of God Pope Paul vi stated the Church “exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ's sacrifice in Holy Mass, which is the memorial of His death and glorious resurrection” (Apostolic Exortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 8 -12 -1975, ). So the next Ordinary General Synod of Bishops in 2012 will have the theme: “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith”. At any time or any place, even today in the Middle East, the Church is present and works to welcome every person and offer him/her the fullness of life in Christ. As the Italian-German theologian Romano Guardini once wrote, “The reality of the ‘Church’ implies a complete fullness of being Christian, which grows as it embraces the fullness the human being in relation to GOD.
Dear friends, in the today's Liturgy we read the testimony of St Paul concerning the final reward that the Lord will grant “to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Tim 4:8). This testimony does not mean an idle or solitary waiting. Quite the contrary! The Apostle lived in communion with the Risen Christ to “proclaim the Word [Gospel] fully” so that “all the Gentiles might hear it” (2 Tim 4:17). The missionary task is not to revolutionize the world, rather to transfigure it, drawing upon the strength of Jesus Christ who “summons us to the banquet of his word and of the Eucharist, to taste the gift of his presence, to be formed at his school and to live ever more closely united to him, our teacher and Lord” (Message for the 84th World Mission Sunday). Also, Christians of today – as it is written in the Epistle to Diognetus – “show how marvellous and... extraordinary their associated life is. They spend their life on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the established laws, but in their way of living go beyond these laws... They are condemned to death, from which they draw life. While doing good, they are... persecuted and they grow in number every day” .
To the Virgin Mary, that from Jesus crucified received the new mission to be the Mother of all those who desire to believe in and follow Him, we entrust the Christian community of the Middle East and all missionaries of the Gospel.
POPE FRANCIS
RispondiEliminaANGELUS
Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 23 October 2016
[Multimedia]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!
The second Reading of the day’s Liturgy presents to us Saint Paul’s exhortation to Timothy, his collaborator and chosen son, in which he thinks back on his existence as an Apostle wholly consecrated to the mission (cf. 2 Tim 4:6-8, 16-18). Now seeing the end of his earthly journey, he describes it in reference to three seasons: the present, past and future.
The present he interprets with the metaphor of sacrifice: “For I am already on the point of being sacrificed” (v. 6). With regard to the past, Paul points to his life lived with the images of the “good fight” and the “race” of a man who has been coherent with his duties and his responsibilities (cf. v. 7); as a result, for the future he trusts in being recognized by God who is “the righteous judge” (v. 8). But Paul’s mission has been effective, just and faithful only thanks to the closeness and the strength of the Lord, who has made of him a proclaimer of the Gospel to all peoples. This is his expression: “the Lord stood by me and gave me strength to proclaim the Gospel fully, that all the peoples might hear it” (cf. v. 17).
In this autobiographical account by Saint Paul the Church is reflected, especially today, World Mission Sunday, the theme of which is “Missionary Church, Witness of Mercy”. In Paul the Christian community finds its model, in the conviction that the Lord’s presence makes apostolic work and the work of evangelization effective. The experience of the Apostle of the people reminds us that we must be committed in pastoral and missionary activities, on the one hand, as if the result depends on our efforts, with the spirit of sacrifice of an athlete, who never stops even in the face of challenges; on the other, however, knowing that the true success of our mission is a gift of Grace: it is the Holy Spirit who makes the Church’s mission in the world effective.
Today is a time of mission and a time of courage! Courage to strengthen faltering steps, to recapture the enthusiasm of devoting oneself to the Gospel, of recovering confidence in the strength that the mission brings to bear. It is a time of courage, even if having courage does not mean having a guarantee of success. Courage is required of us in order to fight, not necessarily to win; in order to proclaim, not necessarily to convert. Courage is required of us in order to open ourselves to everyone, never diminishing the absoluteness and uniqueness of Christ, the one saviour of all. Courage is required of us in order to withstand incredulity, without becoming arrogant. Required of us too is the courage of the tax collector in today’s Gospel, who humbly did not dare even to raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying: “God, be merciful to me a sinner!”. Today is a time for courage! Today courage is needed!
May the Virgin Mary, model of the Church “that goes forth” and of docility to the Holy Spirit, help us all to be, in the strength of our Baptism, missionary disciples in order to bring the message of salvation to the entire human family.
We are a bit tax collectors because we are sinners, and a bit Pharisees because we are presumptuous, able to justify ourselves, masters of the art of self-justification. This may often work with ourselves, but not with God. This trick does not work with God. Let us pray for the grace to experience ourselves in need of mercy, interiorly poor. For this reason too, we do well to associate with the poor, to remind ourselves that we are poor, to remind ourselves that the salvation of God operates only in an atmosphere of interior poverty. (Homily, Conclusion of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, 27 Oct 2019)