Sinodo de los Obispos sobre la Palabra de Dios

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Presentamos el Mensaje al Pueblo de Dios del Sínodo de los Obispos sobre la Palabra de Dios publicado este viernes.

Synod of Bishops: "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church."

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Here is the concluding message of the 12th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which was approved today at the 21st general congregation.

The theme of the assembly was "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church."

26-10-08 REFLECTION Sunday´s Gospel

LOVERS OR LAWYERS?  (by Rev. James McTavish)

In the gospel of today Jesus is asked “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” A challenging question as the Jewish Law contained 613 precepts. Jesus goes to the essential; “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” With so many rules and regulations around Jesus reminds us that it is all about love. To love the widow and the orphan is not a rule or regulation but will flow from a heart full of love. Going to Church every Sunday or to go to the sacrament of reconciliation will not be merely an external obligation when it springs from love. The Sunday mass is a moment to encounter face to face the one we say we love and to listen to him. 

Imagine someone saying he was in love but then having difficulty to meet his beloved for a meal together just once a week! We would question of he really was in love! Or someone loving another he said that she never made a mistake, was always perfect and it was always the fault of the other. We would be a little suspicious as to whether she was really loving if she was not able to recognise her mistakes, to ask forgiveness for her faults and failings. To recognise our faults is a beautiful way of loving ourselves, of loving our limitations and weaknesses. In asking forgiveness we are also loving others and loving God. Sometimes we need to examine our hearts and see if they really contain love. As the psalmist says “He so flatters himself in his mind that he knows not his guilt”. How is my heart full of love?

An example may help us to see how our Christian faith becomes alive when we see our behaviour through the optic of love. At the moment there are campaigns to help avoid drinking excessive alcohol especially binge drinking. This can be conceived as an external rule only imposed against my “freedom”. 

Let us examine the excessive consumption of alcohol in the light of love – love of self, neighbour and of God. Getting drunk is to disrespect our own body, to not love it. Our body is sacred, a gift from God, a temple of the Holy Spirit. We can believe that it is OK as no one else suffers. A visit to any Hospital Emergency room on a Friday or Saturday night would stop one saying that so easily. Many innocent people suffer the consequences of other people’s drunkenness. How many car accidents and incidents of violence have their root at least in a part to alcohol abuse. Even if the alcohol is consumed at home with no apparent ills, what can one say about the cost involved? Couldn’t at least some of that money be better spent on other things? However we don’t want to become killjoys and prudence is required – even St Paul encouraged Timothy to drink some wine and surely even Jesus and his disciples enjoyed a glass or two at Cana. What is to be avoided is consumption in excess such that one loses control of reason and instead of dominating it the alcohol comes to dominate the person. 

How different when we look through the optic of love at our lives. When we see the world with eyes of love it is easy to understand many things. Love gives clarity in complex situations. We cannot accept destruction of human embryos or euthanasia because they both involve destruction of human life. 

Once in an a radio programme which was supporting abortion a 15 year old girl rang up, unconvinced by many false arguments that had been presented and stated so clearly that she did not agree with abortion because it involved the destruction of innocent human life. Love gives us a clear vision about what is right and wrong. 

Let us ask Jesus to be more filled with his love. To help us not be mere followers of the law, doing the minimum possible but instead to give us big hearts that go for the maximum Jesus help us to love you more and more. 

Jesus wants lovers not more lawyers.

26/10/2008, Domingo de la 30ª semana de Tiempo Ordinario.

Amarás al Señor, tu Dios, y a tu prójimo como a ti mismo

Lectura del santo evangelio según san Mateo 22,34-40

En aquel tiempo, los fariseos, al oír que Jesús había hecho callar a los saduceos, formaron grupo, y uno de ellos, que era experto en la Ley, le preguntó para ponerlo a prueba: -«Maestro, ¿cuál es el mandamiento principal de la Ley?» Él le dijo: -«"Amarás al Señor, tu Dios, con todo tu corazón, con toda tu alma, con todo tu ser." Este mandamiento es el principal y primero. El segundo es semejante a él: "Amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo." Estos dos mandamientos sostienen la Ley entera y los profetas.» 

Palabra del Señor.

26/10/2008, reflexión del evangelio del domingo

El Segundo mandamiento es semejante al Primero (por Luis Tamayo)

En la lectura de la Palabra de hoy vemos como le hacen una pregunta a Jesús: ¿Cuál es el mandamiento principal de la Ley de Dios? 

Quizás fue para ponerlo a prueba, ellos querían ver que respondía. Jesús no sólo fue fiel a la lo que la Ley decía, sino que añade algo más par su total comprensión. Esta fue la novedad que Jesús trajo. 

Jesús responde haciendo mención a la Ley: Amarás al Señor tu Dios con todo tu corazón, con toda tu alma y con todo tu ser. Y luego, siendo fiel a la Ley de Moisés, recalca: Este mandamiento es el principal y primero.

Jesús responde dentro de las expectativas de los fariseos. Jesús acierta, esto es el primer mandamiento de la Ley de Moises (lo podemos ver en el Antiguo Testamento, en el libro del Deuteronomio 6, 4). 

Pero Jesús da un paso más en la comprensión del mandato principal de Dios. Jesús viene a revelar un segundo mandato. Acto seguido, nada mas contestar sobre el primero y casi sin darles tiempo a respirar añade: El segundo es semejante al primero: Amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo. 

¿Qué significa cuando Jesús dice que el segundo es semejante al primero? Con esto Jesús viene a hacernos entender que el amor al hermano lo equipara al amor a Dios. Cuántas veces hemos oído: ¿Cómo puedes amar a Dios a quien no ves si no amas a tu hermano a quien ves? La semejanza es porque Jesús viene a equiparar el amor a Dios y el amor al hermano. 

Imaginaos si esto es importante que Jesús acaba diciendo en el Evangelio: Estos dos mandamientos sostienen la Ley entera y todo lo que los profetas dijeron. 

Es verdad que vemos estos dos mandatos en un orden: primero el amor a Dios y luego el amor al hermano, pero Jesús al decir que son semejantes los quiere poner a los dos como el sostén de toda la vida cristiana. San Pablo nos lo recuerda en la carta a los Romanos (Rm 13, 8-10) El que ama al prójimo ha cumplido la Ley. En efecto, lo de: no adulterarás, no matarás, no robarás, no codiciarás y todo los demás preceptos se resumen en esta fórmula: amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo. La caridad no hace mal al prójimo. 

Por lo tanto, Jesús hoy nos recuerda que no existe otro mandamiento mayor a estos dos: el amor a Dios y el amor al prójimo. Y sobre estos dos se entienden los demás.

La pregunta que me surge ahora es: ¿Por qué entonces el resto de los mandamientos? A todos nos gusta esa parte del amor a Dios y al hermano… pero quien no ha tenido mala experiencia con eso del NO… no matarás, no robarás, no codiciarás, no desearás, no, no, no… Al final nos hemos quedado con un cristianismo del NO, una religión de la prohibición donde todo es malo… “no hagas esto, no hagas lo otro”… y al final lo que ha provocado en muchos y sobre todo en las generaciones jóvenes de hoy es el rechazo a la religión y todo lo que tenga que ver con una forma autoritaria de entender la fe. 

Esto es fácil de entender con un ejemplo. Es verdad que los mandamientos tienen ese aspecto impositivo que suena negativo; es parecido a las señales de tráfico que tienen un aspecto impositivo pero con una función clara la de salvaguardar la vida de los conductores y de los peatones. Y estamos hablando de la vida meramente física.

¿Cómo salvaguardar la vida espiritual? ¿Cómo cuidar que el Amor de Dios en el corazón del hombre no se corrompa? ¿Cómo cuidar que cuando necesito de un amor extraordinario en una situación de conflicto tenga esa fuerza interior? Para eso están los mandamientos. Como la vida interior es algo que nos cuesta ver con los ojos y por tanto cuidarlo, Jesús nos enseñó una serie de principios que nos llevan a una vida plena. 

Los mandamientos tienen un sentido muy positivo, pues son el camino de Dios para cuidar nuestra salud espiritual. Dios mismo con los mandamientos nos está diciendo: “Es que quiero que estés fuerte y robusto; es que quiero que tengas una gran capacidad para amar; ;es que no te quiero triste ni desanimado, te quiero servicial y disponible para los demás. Pero para ello necesitas seguir unos principios en la vida.” Para ello están los mandamientos.

Si no los quieres ver en negativo “dale la vuelta a al tortilla”. En ved de leer no matarás, no robarás, no codiciarás, no adulterarás… míralo del lado positivo: seamos honestos y respetemos las cosas de los otros, seamos generosos con los demás, seamos dignos y virtuosos con las personas del otro sexo, amemos la vida y no la destruyamos. 

En definitiva, lo que hoy aprendemos es que el segundo mandato de la caridad al prójimo es tan importante como el amor a Dios. Estos dos principios sostienen toda nuestra vida espiritual.

Mission is a matter of love

By Jason A. Baguia

Printed on Sunday, 19 October 2008 in Cebu Daily News

Today the Catholic world celebrates World Mission Sunday, the theme of which, formulated by Pope Benedict XVI is "Servants and apostles of Christ Jesus." This theme is drawn from Saint Paul's description of himself in his mission to the world outside Jerusalem during the seminal days of the Christian faith.

Benedict's letter to all men and women for today is divided into four sub-topics: (a) the world is in need of liberation (b) the mission is a matter of love (c) evangelize always (d) woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. This corresponds to the commandment revealed to the people of Israel and affirmed by Christ himself as the greatest of all: Love the Lord your God with all your mind, with all your heart, with all your strength and with all your soul.

With all your mind. The mission – of telling the world of the grace and mercy of Christ crucified, risen and coming again – will not proceed in the absence of the intellectual conviction that it is a necessity. One does not go about campaigning for the liberation of a people whom one believes is already free. Loving God with the whole mind entails embracing the truth of Christ and in light of that truth acknowledging the multi-layered falsity of worldly values such as materialism, consumerism, hedonism, nihilism or moral relativism.

With all your heart. Knowledge of the need for the conversion of reality alone is not enough to fulfil Christ's commission to go out into the world and baptize people in the Name of the Holy Trinity, and to teach them all that Christ commanded. The mission also needs to be affective. It is not simply a matter of counselling or healing, exorcising and uttering inspirational words. It is a matter of the heart. A mission run on mind, a mission without heart is destined to burn out. Christ assures all commissioned that He will be with them always until the end of the age precisely because the mission has to flow from a vibrant relationship with him. If it does not start with him, it will not end through, with, and in him.

With all your strength. Evangelization should be done always. Mother Angelica of EWTN repute says "The essence of evangelization is to tell a person: 'God loves you.'" Saint Francis of Assisi is said to have spoken: "Preach at all times, using words if necessary." Whether in words or in deeds, the Christian is to proclaim the love of the Lord. In the penitential rite of the Holy Mass, Catholics ask forgiveness for sins committed in thoughts, words and deeds, and even for deeds not done. This is because the Christian ought to think, speak, do, and not do on account of the Lord and his message. Mission is a way of life. It is the core of the Christian identity.

With all your soul. Saint Paul said "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel," because to tell the world of God's love is itself being on the everlasting way. It is the fullness of life, such that any other path, every non-loving path is most certainly a depravation of the soul from the abundant life.

Reflexión evangelio del domingo 19 Octubre (Día de la Misión)

Da a Dios lo que es de Dios (por P. Luis Tamayo)

Jesús ante la trama de los fariseos y de los partidarios de Herodes responde con esta frase tan conocida por nosotros: “dad a Dios lo que es de Dios y dad al César lo que es del César”. Él les pide una moneda y les pregunta que es lo que está impreso en la moneda? Ellos responden, la imagen del César. Por eso Jesús les dice si eso lleva la imagen del César, darle al Cesar lo que es del César.

A Jesús no le interesa la moneda y lo que en ella está impreso. A Jesús le interesa tu vida y mi vida; y mirando nuestras vidas a profundidad el sabe que lo que hay impreso en el fondo de todo corazón es la imagen de Dios, la imagen del Amor. Lo aprendemos del libro del Génesis “Dios creó al hombre a su imagen y semejanza”. Ahora que vemos en el interior de casi todos los productos “made in China”; si pudiésemos mirar la etiqueta del corazón veríamos inscrito “made in Dios”.

El Amor divino es lo mas profundo del corazón de todo hombre; no podemos negar la dignidad de nuestra raza. El sello que nos distingue de todo otro ser vivo es la capacidad de amar a lo divino. No somos sólo “animales racionales” como leemos en los libros de texto, esto sería reducir demasiado nuestra alta dignidad. 

Esto es lo que le preocupa a Jesús, que pasemos por alto tan alta dignidad y tan gran nobleza. Estamos hechos a la medida del amor divino de Dios.

Los fariseos y partidarios de Herodes no hacían mas que acumular odio, rencor, violencia, envidia en sus corazones… y Jesús les quiere decir: ¿No te das cuenta que no eres cualquier cosa? ¿No os dais cuenta la grandeza con la que habéis sido creados? ¿No te das cuenta que el odio, rencor, la violencia destroza lo mas profundo en ti? ¿qué la envidia envenena y corrompe el Amor divino en ti? Esto es lo que le preocupa a Jesús… 

Cuando Jesús nos cuenta en otro evangelio lo del tesoro escondido en el interior de un terreno (Mateo 13,44) se esta refiriendo a esto mismo. El tesoro lo tienes escondido en lo profunde del corazón, no tienes mas que descubrirlo! Tienes inscrita en tu corazón la capacidad divina de amar. 

Esto es muy sencillo de comprobar. Yo siempre me pregunto ¿es que quiero odiar a esta persona? NO! Pero si me quedo fatal cuando acumulo odio o deseos de venganza. Si no puedo descansar bien, estoy dándole vueltas a la cabeza todo el día. ¿A caso hay alguien que quiere esto? No lo creo. Yo lo que quiero es amar generosamente, estar disponible, ser humilde para saber perdonar, no tener rencor, etc.

Entonces ¿por qué parece que nos quedamos tantas veces en eso? 

El problema es que nos quedamos en lo externo… miramos si esta persona procede de este país u otro, si es de este nivel social u otro. Jesús nos enseña a no mirar las apariencias sino a lo profundo del corazón. Mira alrededor tuyo! ¿Que ves en tu marido? ¿qué ves en tus hijos? ¿qué ves en tus vecinos o compañeros de trabajo? ¿qué ves en esa persona que te “cae fatal”? No nos quedemos en lo de fuera miremos mas a fondo.

Entonces yo me vuelvo a preguntar ¿por qué hay gente que actúa así con odio, rencor o violencia? Muchas veces es a ignorancia. Sí, la ignorancia! No saben que son de Dios.

Si tu eres de Dios, da a Dios lo que es de Dios. Da a Dios tus dificultades, da a Dios tu cansancio, la pesadez de esta semana. Dale a Dios aquello que no puedes, que te resulta pesado, no solo aquello que te va bien y te funciona. Dale a Dios tiempo de oración, de silencio. Dale a Dios un poco de tanto tiempo perdido en horas de televisión. Dale a Dios ese perdón que tanto te cuesta, ofrécelo a Él ya verás que alegría tan grande te da. 

Da a Dios lo que es de Dios, da a Dios tu amor y cariño, dale algo de tu tiempo, algo de tus pensamientos, dale una pequeña oración; Y especialmente hoy día de la Misión… Da a Dios un gesto de cariño en una persona, una sonrisa en tu trabajo, una carcajada a tu familia, un guiño a un niño. Da a Dios lo que es de Dios y el te pagará el ciento por uno.

29th Sunday of OT - Mission Sunday

We are all missionaries (by Rev. James McTavish)

This Sunday the Church celebrates mission Sunday. What is mission for you? Something they do in a far off country I hear you say. If you go to the far off countries and ask them the same question they too respond “Something they do in a far off country!”. So what is mission? The first thing to say is that mission is not simply something the Church does. Mission is not merely an activity but is part of her identity – “The Church is missionary by her very nature” (Ad Gentes no.2). The Church is missionary because her founder is missionary. God so loved the world that he sent his only Son. Mission is about love and it is about sending. Jesus sent his disciples 2000 years ago and the Holy Spirit sends and each and every Christian today. The mission is not finished. Pope John Paul II said that the mission is not over yet. After 2 millennia, the mission of the Church is only just beginning! There is work to be done! Are you ready?

The mission is about love and sending. Love because Jesus asked “Do you love me? Feed my sheep”. And love is about being sent because love desires to be shared. Where there is love there is mission. Where there is love there is sharing. Once when I was in the Philippines we were giving some candies to some children at the end of the mass. One boy took one of his three candies and ate it immediately. The other two he put in his pocket. I wondered why he didn’t eat them all at once as I would have done at his age (and perhaps still now). He found his younger brothers and sisters and gave each one a candy. Where there is love there is sharing. Where there is love there is mission.

Every Christian has a mission. I came to Church for years and I didn’t know this. When I was 29 I experienced the love of Jesus s strongly that I had to share it. Since then Jesus has kept me busy sharing his love in many lands such as England, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Philippines, Japan, Australia. He said “Go to all nations!”. The mission is for everyone not just for missionaries. The truth is we are all missionaries. The difference is we have different missions. What is your mission?

The first mission territory is our home. A man asked Mother Theresa what was his mission. He wanted to build a better world, to go and work for peace. She said to him if you want to work for world peace go home and love your family. A father has a mission to love his wife and bring up a family. Hearing my father say sorry to my mum when he made a mistake taught my brothers and I the importance of recognizing our mistakes and to say sorry. What peace and harmony forgiveness bring to a family. And some of the best sermons I ever heard were preached by my mum without words. When she came with a plate of biscuits to the playground and gave one not just to my friends but to all the children she was giving a homily with her life, without words, on generosity. St Charles Borromeo wrote “Make sure that your life and conduct are sermons in themselves.”

We as Christians are called to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and God what belongs to God. To be honest in our work, to give money and wealth is due place but not to idolize them. Also our time, which in our world of today is so precious, to give to Caesar what is necessary but to give to God some of our time too. How much time do we give to God?

Let us ask the grace to embrace the mission entrusted to us and t enjoy it. And today a special prayer for all the parents who work hard to bring up a family. Don’t be afraid to be holy! The world needs Saints especially married ones! If this seems a distant dream perhaps the events of this day can strengthen our faith and encourage us. On October 19th 2008 in Lisieux, France a married couple will be beatified, the first step towards becoming Saints – Louis and Marie Zelie the parents of St Theresa of Lisieux. So come on mums and dads don’t be afraid to be holy! And to each one of us we can ask Jesus to experience his love more strongly and that this love may send us, moving us out of our comfort zone at times to share to others, with our life and with our words.

Happy Mission Sunday!

Gospel Commentary for 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

THE VINEYARD AND THE FRUITS 

(By Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap)

The immediate context of the parable of the murderous tenants of the vineyard is the relationship between God and the people of Israel. It is to Israel that God first sent the prophets and then his own Son.

But similar to all of Jesus’ parables, this story has a certain openness. In the relationship between God and Israel the history of God’s relationship with the whole of humanity is traced. Jesus takes up and continues God’s lament in Isaiah, which we heard in the first reading. It is there that we find the key to the parable and its tone. Why did God “plant a vineyard” and what are the "fruits" that are expected, which God will come to look for?

Here the parable does not correspond to reality. Human beings do not plant vineyards and dedicate themselves to its care for the love of the vines but for their own benefit. God is different. He creates man and enters into a covenant with him, not for his own benefit, but for man’s benefit, out of pure love. The fruits that are expected from man are love of God and justice toward the oppressed: all things that are for the good of man, not God.

This parable of Jesus is terribly relevant to our Europe, and in general to the Christian world. In this context, too, we must say that Jesus has been “cast out of the vineyard,” thrown out of a culture that proclaims itself post-Christian, or even anti-Christian. The words of the vineyard tenants resound, if not in the words at least in the deeds, of our secularized society: “Let us kill the heir and the inheritance will be ours!”

No one wants to hear anymore about Europe’s Christian roots, of the Christian patrimony. Secularized humanity wants to be the heir, the master. Sartre put this terrible declaration into the mouth of one of his characters: “There is nothing in heaven, neither good nor evil, there is no one who can give me orders. [...] I am a man, and every man must invent his own path.”

What I have just sketched is a “broadband” application of the parable. But Jesus' parables almost always have a more “narrow band” application, an application to the individual: they apply to each individual person, not just to humanity or Christendom in general. We are invited to ask ourselves: What fate have I prepared for Christ in my life? How am I responding to God’s incomprehensible love for me? Have I too, by chance, thrown him out of my house, my life; that is, have I forgotten and ignored Christ?

I remember one day I was listening to this parable at Mass while I was fairly distracted. Then came the words of the owner of vineyard: “They will respect my Son.” I started, and I understood that those words were addressed to me personally in that moment. The heavenly Father was about to send me his Son in the sacrament of his body and blood. Did I understand the importance of this great moment? Was I ready to welcome him with respect, the respect that the Father expected? Those words brought me brusquely back from my wandering thoughts.

There is a sense of regret, of delusion in the parable. It certainly is not a story with a happy ending! But in its depths it tells us of the incredible love that God has for his people and for every creature. It is a love that, even through the alternating events of loss and return, will always be victorious and have the last word.

God’s rejections are never definitive. They are pedagogical abandonments. Even the rejection of Israel, which obliquely echoes through Christ’s words -- “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit” -- is of this sort, as is that described by Isaiah in the first reading. We have seen that this danger also threatens Christendom, or at least large parts of it.

St. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans: “Has God rejected his people? Of course not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. ... Did they stumble so as to fall? Of course not! But through their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. ... For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:1 passim).

On Sept. 29 our brothers celebrated the New Year with the feast of Rosh Hashanah. I would like to take this occasion to offer my wishes for peace and prosperity. With the Apostle Paul I ask that “peace be upon the Israel of God.”

Espiritualidad del catequistas

(hacer click en el titulo de arriba para entrar en el articulo)

Puntos débiles en la espiritualidad del catequista (por Víctor Manuel Fernández)

Articulo interesante para nutrir la espiritualidad de aquellos laicos que se dedican a la catequesis.

Sunday's Gospel, October 5. Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 21: 33 - 43

33 "Hear another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country.
34 When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit;
35 and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them.
37 Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, `They will respect my son.'
38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, `This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.'
39 And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
40 When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"
41 They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons."
42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: `The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it."

October 5 - Sunday's Reflection

“Deliver the fruit of the harvest at the proper time” Mt 21, 41

In the gospel of today (Mt 21, 33-43) Jesus tells us of a vineyard leased out to tenants. The vineyard produces its harvest and the owner sends his servants to collect the fruits. The tenants kill the servants so the owner sends his own beloved son who meets with the same fate. What will the owner do? The listeners respond “Kill the tenants!” filled with a sense of rough justice and indignation. But they then add “And the owner will then lease the vineyard to other tenants who will be able to deliver the fruit of the harvest at the proper time.” The fruit of the vineyard is so precious that the show must go on. So the owner of the vineyard entrusts the harvest to “other tenants”. Who are these other tenants? You guessed it, you and I! It is our turn now. But how can we be trustworthy tenants who can produce the fruit of the harvest at the proper time?

Perhaps it helps us to remind ourselves what is a tenant. A tenant is not the owner and does not own the produce of the vineyard although the tenant can enjoy the benefit of a fruitful harvest. We are tenants in that we are called to collaborate, to be co-labourers, in the Lord’s vineyard. In the Eucharist we offer the bread to be consecrated as “fruit of the earth and work of our hands”. There is a col-laboration with God here, a working together in harmony with the Creator. God has given each one of us certain gifts and talents, he has given us a heart capable to love and a mind which can be creative in searching for solutions to problems. All that we have received including our time and our very lives are urgently needed to participate in building the Kingdom. A mentality prevalent today is that what I have is mine and I can do with it whatever I want. But what do we have that we have not received? It is good to examine if we use what we have in function of the Kingdom. For example our time. Sometimes we find ‘no time’ to pray but it is amazing how time flies when we are watching television or surfing the net!

The prophet Isaiah in the first reading (Isaiah 5, 1-7) laments that the vineyard has produced no fruit - “What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done? Why, when I looked for the crop of grapes, did it bring forth sour ones?”. Sometimes we can mount the defensive and plead that “Well I am not a bad person. At least I haven’t killed anyone”. If we were living in the 16th century perhaps we could get away with this. In that era, the moral life of the Christian was seen by many as merely to avoid sin. To not do evil. We are now in the 21st century. The focus is not simply to avoid evil but to do good! The second Vatican council spoke of the moral obligation of Christians to do good in the world in a document called Optatam totius when it explained that the followers of Christ are called to assume the challenge and vocation “to bear fruit in charity for the life of the world.” Not simply to avoid bad things but to love. And not merely to think at an individual level but for the life of the world. When we see the great challenges of the world of today who can not feel moved to respond fully to the call of Jesus to help out?

Sometimes we are too stressed to think much about the Kingdom. In fact, our minds can be so full of anxiety and negative thoughts that we think that our lives will never produce good fruit. It is a reality of our modern lives that sometimes we get very stressed by our work. We idolize it too much. It is well known that countries with a developed economy also have developed high levels of stomach ulcers! Or even in the Western world we can boast of increased levels of technology but also increased levels of depression. Of course our work can contribute to the Kingdom but we must only give to Caesar, or our boss, what belongs to him, but give to God what belongs to God. Many today will make great sacrifices for their work. In pagan times harsh sacrifices were often demanded to appease the false Gods but even today for the sake of a career many will sacrifice their maternity and paternity by delaying childbearing or having too few children. Others sacrifice their health, others their marriage.

In the second reading of today (Philippians 4, 6-9) St Paul gives us all some healthy advice for not get too caught up in the rat race and keep things in perspective. A healthy tree produces good fruit so what is needed is a healthy inner life, or life of prayer. We know that our lives are like the iceberg – 10% is visible and above water but the main part, 90% of it, is submerged. Externally we see a small fraction of the expression of a person. The battle is won and lost inside, in the so-called hidden life. Sometimes we are so disturbed by a comment or situation. 

How different when our stability lies in our inner life, in our relationship and friendship with Jesus. Herein lies our stability. For this reason St Paul advises “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). What is lacking many times in the busy world of today? Go to the essential. In the days of exploring the high seas, the dreaded disease on long sea voyages was scurvy, a condition that caused the gums to bleed, the teeth to come out and the skin to fall away. What was lacking in the diet? A vital amine, later known as vitamin C. What is lacking in the lives of many Christians today? Vitamin P. What is that? Vitamin Prayer! Man cannot live on work alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. It is only in prayer that we discover that the owner of the vineyard is actually our loving Father telling us “I love you and I need your help in the vineyard”. We discover a Jesus who does not call us servants but calls us friends. And we get to know this Holy Spirit who is not a spirit of timidity but of love and energy. Phew! We can breathe and relax a bit. All the strength does not need to come from us but from God. This is the secret of bearing fruit. It is our intimate relationship with the Trinity, a simple loving dialogue with them. This is why St Paul tells us to share all our worries with them. We need to speak to God like he is our best friend and most intimate companion. 

This is the advice of all the praying Saints. St Alphonsus Ligouri says our intimacy with God must be greater than that with our closest friend, and St Theresa of Avila describes prayer as an intimate dialogue with the person who loves us the most. We don’t need to think that this is impossible for me as I cannot spend all day in the monastery. Well let us listen to the advice of St John Chrysostom- “It is always possible to pray. When we are walking along and even when we are in the marketplace”. So we can pray when we are at work as well and make our work part of our mission, a place where we can sow seeds of the Kingdom. A little Word here and there and we do our bit planting little seeds of love and humility. God will make them grow.

So let us ask for the gift to be good tenants, to grow in our loving, prayerful relationship with God so that we can “deliver the fruit of the harvest at the proper time”. 

Pensamientos al final del dia

Tiempos de quietud (por Luis Tamayo)

Es tarde, las 10 de la noche.  Llevo toda la tarde queriendo sentarme tranquilamente y escribir algo.  Dejar que las palabras broten desde dentro de mi corazón.  Necesito dejar salir lo que quedó atrapado en estos días.

Ayer estuve con unos amigos y les compartía que últimamente me veía un poco acelerado, haciendo un montón de cosas, incluso cosas muy buenas para los demás, dedicando tiempo a escuchar a otros, haciendo esto por aquí y lo otro por allí, viendo una película, una llamada, etc.  pero en el fondo, por dentro mucho ruido.

Mi amiga me dijo, "Luis cuídate!; necesitamos cuidarnos, tener tiempos de tranquilidad, de quietud, de oración, de lectura, de reflexión". Luego añadía, "este ultimo tiempo me gusta quedarme en casa los domingos, escuchar música clásica, hacer oración, leer un buen libro..."  Cuando escuchaba esto por dentro parecía como que mi anhelo se despertaba... "¿No es esto lo que yo quiero?" me decía por dentro.

¿Quién no añora tiempos de quietud? ¿Quien no desearía que las necesidades que nos apremian dejaran de existir y poder vivir sin el apretujón de tantas necesidades que muchas veces son irrelevantes?  

Que silencio!  No hay nadie en casa.  Solo el tic-tac del reloj. Yo y mi pensar. Yo y mi Dios... mejor mi Dios y yo...

Mi Dios... se que te necesito, se que encontrarte no es difícil.  Tú no se lo pones difícil a quien amas. Tú estás al alcance de cualquier persona.  Tú, simplemente, estás!

Mis ojos no te ven, pero estas presente. MIs oídos no te escuchan pero balbuceas en el interior de mis pensamientos.  Mis manos no te tocan pero te haces sentir en los deseos de mi corazón.  Gracias por ser tan cercano, gracias por estar aquí.

Qué bien que he parado estos 10 minutos.  Qué bien que he hecho caso a mi necesidad de quietud. 

A veces me pregunto con gran inquietud por que será que muchas veces en la vida no hay forma de parar, que siempre hay necesidad de ruido alrededor, que no hay capacidad de encontrar momentos de quietud y silencio.  A veces no queremos el silencio pues incomoda destapar el vacío que vivimos por dentro; pero otras muchas veces no podemos encontrar esos momentos tan envidiables.

Yo no quiero dejarme llevar por el ruido, por las prisas, por el jaleo, por los planes, por las actividades, y todo ello tan lícito y necesario, pero a la vez tan peligroso para una vida en profundidad.

El silencio sigue a mi alrededor.  El reloj sigue haciendo su tic-tac... Yo voy tocando más mi interior, voy dejando salir lo que quedó atrapado en estos dias.  ¿Miedos? de cara al futuro; ¿resentimientos? algunos; ¿egoísmo propio? también.  Pero lo mas bonito, lo mas grande, es la experiencia de creer que hay un Dios que me cuida.  

Saber que todo acontece para mi bien, querer vivir es esta seguridad, en esta promesa de Dios.  Dios es Amor y cuida de los suyos... y de mí.  No me puedo olvidar de esta verdad tan fundamental.  

Abandonar en Él mis miedos e inseguridades propias de mi condición humana; saber que me cuida, que Él traza mis pasos, que Él perdona mis incongruencias, que Él me da su amor incondicional.

Necesito del silencio para recibirlo, para ser consciente, para asimilarlo... no estoy acostumbrado a tanta generosidad, no se manejarme con tanto derroche de amor.  Necesito del silencio para acoger le a Él.

El silencio no es algo vacío, pues esta lleno de su presencia. Tiempos de quietud son para descubrir que no estamos solos, que alguien me habita.

Son las 10:40pm. La casa sigue estando tan quieta.  El reloj continúa con el ritmo del tic-tac. Estoy contento de haber parado y de poder entrar en lo que mas anhelaba, tocar un tiempo de quietud para tocarte a Tí, mi Dios.