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30-11 1º Domingo de Adviento

"Vivir despiertos!" P. Luis Tamayo

Las primeras generaciones cristianas vivían esperando la segunda venida de Jesús. Vivían tan atraídos por él que querían encontrarse de nuevo cuanto antes. Los problemas empezaron cuando vieron que el tiempo pasaba y la venida del Señor se demoraba. Pronto se dieron cuenta de que esta tardanza encerraba un gran peligro para su fe, se podía apagar el primer ardor. Con el tiempo, aquellas pequeñas comunidades podían caer poco a poco en la indiferencia y el olvido. Les preocupaba una cosa: «Que, al llegar, Cristo no nos encuentre dormidos».

La vigilancia se convirtió en la palabra clave. Jesús lo repite en los evangelios constantemente. Según Marcos, este deseo de Jesús no es sólo para los discípulos de entonces que le escuchaban sino que es el deseo de Jesús para todos sus seguidores de todos los tiempos. Así estas palabras nos las dirige hoy a nosotros: «vigilad», «estad alerta», «vivid despiertos». 

Han pasado veinte siglos de cristianismo. ¿Qué ha sido del deseo de Jesús? ¿Cómo vivimos los cristianos de hoy? ¿Seguimos despiertos? ¿Se mantiene viva nuestra fe o se ha ido apagando en la indiferencia y la mediocridad? ¿Sentimos la necesidad de sacudirnos y echar a un lado la apatía y dejadez? ¿Vemos la necesidad de dejar de practicar una fe por inercia o con desgana? ¿Por qué no reavivar una fe humilde y limpia que alguna vez ya hemos experimentado?

Una vez hablé con una señora que me dijo que iba a misa por que no tenía nada que hacer en casa… o cuantos otros te dicen: “no se… porque por que toca”, pero no hay una verdadera y fresca motivación del corazón. Yo me pregunto: ¿Nos damos cuenta de que una Iglesia «dormida» a la que Jesucristo no seduce ni toca el corazón, es una Iglesia sin futuro, que se irá apagando y envejeciendo por falta de vida?

Jesús, en el evangelio de hoy nos invita a preguntarnos ¿Qué es vivir despierto? Intento responder a esta pregunta desde algunos ejemplos que se me ocurren para hacerlo concreto.

“Vivir despiertos” significa levantarse por las mañanas y dar gracias a Dios de corazón por el descanso, por un nuevo día, por las fuerzas restauradas para seguir trabajando.

Yo mismo tengo un propósito hecho de no salir de casa cada día sin haber hecho un rato de oración, de haber tenido un tiempo de silencio, de conversación con mi Dios. Así como decía Santa Teresa de Jesús: “Orar es estar muchos ratos y a solas con aquel que sabemos nos ama”.

“Vivir despiertos” significa que hay momentos al día donde mi pensamiento se lo lleva Dios, y no sólo para quejarme, sino por que siento su compañía y necesito de su consejo.

Mi amiga Isabel, una mujer de fe, nos decía el otro día que en su entrevista de trabajo era como si llevara dos conversaciones. Por un lado con el señor con quien hacía la entrevista; y por otro en el interior de su corazón con Jesús, a quien le decía : “Señor mira a ver si me conviene este trabajo, ayúdame”.

“Vivir despiertos” significa sentir que trabajo por amor, para sostener a mi familia. Significa que uno siente en su vida qué es amar y compartir, pues sólo quien ama vive intensamente, pues está despierto a lo esencial. 

Me contaba el otro día una persona que vive cada día con el propósito explícito de hacer un acto de amor consciente. Es alguien que quiere vivir su fe de forma despierta, pues  muchas veces nuestro darnos a los demás puede ser espontáneo, pero se nos puede pasar desapercibido, por eso ese ser consciente, al menos, de un acto de amor.

«Vivir despiertos» significa despertar nuestra fe. Buscar a Dios en la vida e intuirlo muy cerca de cada persona. Vivir, no sólo de nuestros pequeños proyectos, sino atentos al proyectos de Dios.

30-11 1st Sunday of Advent

   “Be watchful gatekeeper!”  Fr. James McTavish FMVD

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is a time of waiting. Waiting for what? It is not easy to wait in our fast moving world of today. The publicity announces “Take the strain out of waiting”. Even the mince pies, a traditional Christmas food in England, have a best before date of November 22! Or as the children sing “Why are waiting, we are suffocating”. In Advent we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Perhaps the wait is not for our downfall but for our salvation. It gives us time to put our house in order. God’s patience is our salvation. The Master is returning to his house. Blessed the servant who he finds doing what he should when he returns.

In the first reading from Isaiah we see the humility of the people. They realize they are nothing without God and they ask for him to return. They ask “Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?” before pleading for God to visit them “Return for the sake of your servants”. The people recognize that they need God. The Psalmist has the same cry “Let your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.” In our lives do we see the same need for God? 

Sometimes when we look at our society on the one hand it boldly pronounces that it does not need God. In London there is a campaign to have atheistic slogans put on all the buses “God probably doesn’t exist so get on and enjoy your life”. It is as if the God of Life is opposed to us enjoying life. What a mindless contradiction. It is also a sign of a society that is falling asleep. If a society does not react to God and tries to ignores him it does not mean that all is well. A lack of interest in God and not listening to him does not mean that he does not exist. Where God is excluded so is life. If God is not in our lives then quickly we become confused. We need his Word to make sense of our lives. It is like receiving a gift at Christmas. My dad’s favorite advice was “Always read the instructions!”. When my mum got a new electrical gadget and did not know how to work it he would ask “Have you read the instructions?”. It is obvious that the best way to know how something works is to consult the one who made it. 

How many times we can apply this good advice to the most exquisite, delicate and complicated “machine” of all – the human being. If we want to know how to function, how to love, how to live difficulties we can consult the instruction manual of the Sacred Scriptures! If in doubt ask we can ask God who is our Father and Maker. As Isaiah announces “we are the clay you are the potter”. 

To fall asleep is a strong image in the gospel of today. Three time Jesus exhorts the disciples “Stay awake!”. “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'" Are we able to see where we are falling asleep? It is not easy to see where we are falling asleep. We need to help each other to be watchful. In the gospel the Lord comes “in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning” so during the 4 watches of the night. It is important not to be arrogant and presume that we will notice his coming.

Two thousand years ago the scribes of Herod knew that Jesus was coming from reading the Scriptures but they did not see his birth. Just knowing the Scriptures is not enough. The Word needs to be put into practice. The shepherds listened to the Word announced by the angels and they put it into practice. If we want to encounter Christ this Christmas we are led to him by the star of the Word of God. It lights up the way to his encounter. A word that is spoken often only in the darkness, in silence. Jesus once said “What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light” (Mt 10,27). 

Certainly we can understand the call to stay awake as a call to prayer. The Master will certainly come in the time of prayer in his Word. He is faithful (1 Cor 1, 8) and asks us to be faithful to what is entrusted to us. Each servant is called to be faithful to his work so that many in the society must get on with their work. But the gatekeeper is especially called to vigilance. The gatekeeper is to be on watch. The gatekeeper is the symbol of all who are called to pray, of all who are called to have a prophetic voice in the society. It is the symbol of every Christian. Prayer is the antidote to falling asleep. Often a person can be made to fall asleep breathing in an anesthetic. Sometimes the air of the society can anaesthetize us. Let Christ be the air we breathe. Let his Word keep us vigilant. Help us Lord to be awake for our coming. Do not let us fall asleep. Help our hearts be vigilant for our coming, especially to recognize you coming in your Word.

Help us to be good gatekeepers waiting in joyful hope for the coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

"Mi Palabra no pasará"

“El cielo y la tierra pasarán, mis palabras no pasarán”. Evangelio de san Lucas 21,33 

(por Luis Tamayo)

Lo que hemos escuchado es Buena Noticia. El cielo y la tierra pasarán, pero son sus palabras las que no pasarán. Los problemas, las dificultades, los malos entendidos pasarán, pero la palabra de Jesús permanecerán para siempre, así dice Él, que no pasarán.

Ahora no se utiliza tanto la expresión “palabra de honor”, pero antiguamente cuando se hacía una promesa de palabra, esa palabra dada permanecía en el tiempo pues era una promesa.

Así es la palabra de Dios, es la Promesa de vida dada a los hombres. Y no sólo en general sino a cada uno en particular. 

He estado de misiones durante 8 años en Filipinas. Allí conocí a una mujer que la amputaron las piernas he iba en silla de ruedas. Se llamaba tita Angi. Una vez a la semana su familia la solía traer a nuestra capilla, la dejaba una horita y luego regresaban a recogerla. Un día ayudé a bajarla en la silla de ruedas a nuestra capillita donde teníamos al Santísimo. Allí la dejé, sentada delante del sagrario.

Al cabo de un rato regresé para ver que tal estaba. Y mi impresión fue tan grande cuando me la encuentro fuera de la silla, en sus muñones, pues casi no tenía rodillas con lágrimas en los ojos. Cuando la pregunto si estaba bien, me contestó. “Padre, lloro de alegría. El Señor es tan bueno… me llena de consuelo. No tengo nada de que quejarme”.

Cuando vemos tantos casos en las noticias de violencia de genero, de una puñalada, de un joven muerto a la puerta de una discoteca… sólo nos habla de una parte de la realidad pero no nos muestra toda la realidad. Es como quedarse sólo en el pesimismo de la amputación de las dos piernas de tita Angi, pero eso no es toda la realidad, es sólo una parte. La totalidad de la historia la marca las palabras que Dios pronunció en su corazón en esa tarde y que la dejaron n llena de consuelo y lagrimas de alegría.

El testimonio de tita Angi me ayudó mucho a reflexionar. La Palabra de Dios es una promesa de vida y felicidad, es una promesa de consuelo en medio de las dificultades… Jesús hoy nos lo dice: “Cielo y tierra pasarán”, es decir, todo problema aquí en nuestro tiempo, por permanente que parezca ha de pasar, no tienen la última palabra. Lo que no tiene caducidad es mi promesa de Vida y consolación, esto es para todos y por siempre.

Así lo pude comprobar con esta mujer, a pesar de la falta de piernas, de tener toda razón para llevar una vida amarga, nos da una lección de buscar lo más importante, que es la Palabra vida, la Promesa de una alegría del corazón a todo aquel que lo busca con sinceridad.

23-11-08 Jesus, el Rey de reyes

(por P. Silvio José Báez, o.c.d.)

El evangelio (Mt 25,31-46) describe con imágenes sugestivas la presencia de Cristo, rey y pastor, que juzga el camino histórico de la humanidad y de cada hombre. En este texto se escucha la palabra definitiva de Dios sobre la historia, el sentido que él quiere dar a esta historia y la invitación que hace a cada hombre a vivir cotidianamente el amor misericordioso. Al final cada uno será juzgado para la salvación o la condenación definitiva a la luz de los gestos concretos de solidaridad activa en favor de los hombres más necesitados y pobres.

El texto está construido con elementos bíblicos de sabor apocalíptico que intentan describir la gloria de la venida del Hijo del hombre, juez divino e Hijo de Dios, al final de la historia (cf. Dan 7,10; Zac 14,5). En este sentido es importante subrayar ante todo la dimensión cristológica y universal del juicio descrito en el texto. Delante del Hijo del hombre se presentarán todas las naciones de la tierra, sin diferencias étnicas y religiosas. El juez escatológico, el Hijo del hombre como pastor mesiánico, realizará la separación definitiva entre los hombres con la autoridad soberana de Dios. El criterio decisivo será la relación de cada hombre con el Hijo del hombre que se ha hecho solidario con “sus hermanos más pequeños”.

En segundo lugar, en el texto se pone de manifiesto un hecho paradójico: el juez glorioso del final de los tiempos (al cual ambos grupos –los que se salvan y los que se condenan– reconocen como “Señor”) ha asumido en la historia el rostro del indigente, del indefenso y del necesitado. Por eso los hombres deciden su destino delante del Hijo del hombre, no a partir de las obras heroicas o extraordinarias que han realizado en la vida, sino paradójicamente sobre la base de los hechos de la vida cotidiana en relación con los más necesitados: dar de comer, de beber, acoger, visitar, etc.

La cosa más sorprendente del texto es que ninguno de los dos grupos –los que se salvan y los que se condenan– había sospechado esta presencia misteriosa del Hijo del hombre “en los más pequeños”. Con esto Mateo pone de manifiesto lo sorprendente de tal revelación. En el amor y el servicio a los pobres se produce un verdadero encuentro con el Señor que se revela y se oculta, al mismo tiempo, en el rostro del pobre. Lo que se hace en favor del pobre, se hace a Cristo mismo. Por eso el amor y el servicio a los pobres no es simplemente una expresión de la “dimensión social” de la fe. Es mucho más que eso: hay un aspecto contemplativo, de encuentro con Dios en el corazón mismo de la obra del amor.

La frase “mis hermanos más pequeños” ha sido objeto de innumerables discusiones exegéticas. La expresión designa –en el contexto del juicio universal– a todos los hombres necesitados y pobres sin distinción. Es cierto que algunos estudiosos de Mateo han pensado que “los más pequeños” son los discípulos cristianos, misioneros en situaciones difíciles, a partir del uso del término “pequeños” (griego: elajistói) en el primer evangelio (cf. Mt 10,42; 18,5.6.10.14). Esta conclusión se funda en criterios filológicos pero no es adecuada en el contexto de Mateo 25. Ningún indicio del texto hace pensar en la condición de los discípulos misioneros cuando se habla de “pequeños”. Es preferible pensar en los indigentes, en sentido universal. Se trata de todos los hombres que pasan necesidad y sufren en la historia. Con ellos, –precisamente porque son pobres y necesitados–, se ha identificado el Mesías y Juez escatológico. Esta es la perspectiva del evangelio de Mateo, en donde el reino de los cielos se promete a los pobres, la revelación del Padre es destinada a los “pequeños”, la paz y la liberación a los oprimidos y cansados. De esta misma forma el Hijo del hombre, rey y juez glorioso, asume y comparte el destino de sus hermanos más pequeños: los pobres y necesitados de este mundo.

El texto es una parábola profética sobre el juicio último y universal. Pero no solamente habla del final. Es ante todo una exhortación a vivir responsablemente la fe, mientras esperamos la venida gloriosa de Cristo. La fe auténtica en el Señor no se realiza solamente a través de la profesión de los labios sino sobre todo a partir de la práctica del amor misericordioso. Al mismo tiempo Mateo nos coloca delante de una auténtica revelación del señorío de Cristo Rey del universo: Cristo, el Señor, se hace presente en forma escondida y humilde en los pobres y enfermos, en los hambrientos y encarcelados. De tal forma que el rechazo o la acogida de los pobres es el criterio último que decidirá la salvación o la ruina de los hombres. En el amor gratuito, eficaz, concreto, hacia los más pequeños se vive y se expresa la relación vital con Cristo, rey y Señor universal, relación que al final se transformará en plena comunión de vida y de salvación.

El evangelio de hoy nos ayuda a comprender que el encuentro con el pobre a través de las obras concretas es paso obligado para el encuentro con Cristo mismo. Pero no hay que olvidar que el encuentro verdadero y pleno con el hermano pasa por la experiencia de la gratuidad del amor de Dios. Si el prójimo es el camino para llegar a Dios, la relación con Dios es la condición de encuentro, de verdadera comunión con el otro. El señorío de Jesucristo, Rey del universo, se vive en la exigencia del compromiso como fruto de la gratuidad de su amor y en la contemplación como demanda y elemento vivificador de la acción histórica.

23-11-08 Feast of Christ the King

“Lord Jesus come as King. Reign in my heart” (by Fr. James McTavish FMVD)

Today’s feast was instituted in 1925 by Pius XI. Often feasts are introduced to strengthen the Church in a particular devotion such as Corps Christi when reverence to the Blessed Sacrament had grown cold. To understand a feast it helps to be aware of the historical, political and cultural context at the time of its introduction. This period was a time of Kings and empires, of countries seeking to dominate others, to rule over one another. It was also the period between the great World Wars when the world was in need of the King of Peace. Belief in authority was at a low. Christianity was under attack from totalitarian mentalities. Pope Pius XI wrote the encyclical “Quas Primus” to underline the Kingship of Christ and that in him “men must look for the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ”. The Pope also noted that if earthly Kings, princes and those in power recognize Christ as King then the will govern better and more wisely. It was also the intention to strengthen the faithful in their devotion to Christ the King, helping Christ to reign in their minds, hearts and wills and encouraging them to fight bravely under the banner of Christ their King countering “a certain slowness and timidity in good people, who are reluctant to engage in conflict or oppose but a weak resistance; thus the enemies of the Church become bolder in their attacks”. 

Normally when we think of Kings we think of pomp and ceremony, splendor and grandness. But Christ comes as King not in a golden robe but wrapped in swaddling clothes. He has no great earthly castle. Even the inn has no room for him so he is born in a manger. In his public ministry the people wanted to crown him but he stole away. His kingdom is not of this world. But King he is and his is the Kingdom, the power and the glory. He is the “King of kings and Lord of lords” as Handel’s Messiah beautifully reminds us. What type of kingship does he exert? Christ is a King who conquers with love. He wants to reign in our hearts. But he come humbly, on a donkey 2000 years ago and today disguised in a piece of bread. Will we let this humble King reign in our hearts? One sign that he reigns is that we have dominion of ourselves. We dominate our passions, they do not dominate us. When Christ reigns in us we will want to propagate the peace and harmony his presence brings. In fact from our very baptism we are called to participate in his Kingly mission. The Kingly mission of all the lay faithful is to participate fully in the building of the Kingdom (Cf. Lumen Gentium 36). It is different to go to work on Monday morning because ‘I have to’ and ‘because we need the money’. These are valid and good reasons but how different to go to work because Christ the King is asking me to help in the establishment of the Kingdom of heaven on earth. At the train station today I gave the ticket man £5 too much and he returned it to me. Not only is this honesty in action but it is helping to build a kingdom of justice in this world. How many officials in public office in so many countries are dominated by greed and corruption? They are not even kings of their own desires because they are reigned by money. What king is reigning in our hearts? When we see we are reigned by greed, by laziness, by many false rulers we need to pray to Jesus “Lord come as King. Reign in our hearts”.

In the gospel of today we see Christ as King. He shows his kingly power placing the sheep at his right and the goats at his left. The judgment is final and eternal. We have the gift of time now. Which crowd are you in? On the right or the left? Now not only can we change but we can help others. This King of ours is so humble that he associates with the most lowly - “The king will say to them, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” In this last Sunday of ordinary time before Advent let us ask Jesus to reign in us. “Jesus come as King. Be the King of my heart. Cast out all the other rulers. Help us to extend your Kingdom on earth. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done.” Amen

How to listen for the voice of God when reading the Word of God?

How to listen for the voice of God when reading the Word of God?

(by Father Cantalamessa, the Pontifical Household preacher)

Q: The first question is that which readers also pose: What do you do to write your homilies?

Father Cantalamessa: [Laughs] What do I do? I read the Word of God. Before pondering on my reflections, I try to focus on the Word of God, to discover what the message is for this particular moment in which we find ourselves, in which I find myself, in which the Word of God emerges.

Usually, at the beginning it is a little light that is later confirmed little by little, consolidated, revealing a relation with a situation or present problem. Very helpful in this regard is a climate of prayer, of listening to the Holy Spirit, because it is he who has inspired sacred Scripture and only he can explain it, only he can apply it to today's world.

Q: What is your advice to Christians who want to meditate on the Word and draw lessons for their own lives or make useful decisions in life under the gaze of God?

Father Cantalamessa: It depends to a degree on the state, on the duties of the person. If it is only a question of personal use of the Word of God for one's life, the best thing is to begin to use the Word of God that the Church offers us through the liturgy: the Liturgy of the Hours, the Mass, etc, because often when the Lord speaks he uses the Church's choice, the readings of the day.

To be attentive to the readings of the day often reveals that it is an answer to a particular problem. A word seems to be made to measure for us to the point that one is constrained to say: "This was written precisely for me!" Hence, one must greatly value not the personal, but the community choice made by the Church in the liturgy.

Then there is the personal choice, namely, rereading the passages of Scripture that in the past have had a certain importance for us, have spoken to us. Often the Lord speaks through the same texts and says things that are always new and appropriate to the situations we are living. One must appreciate those Words of God that in the past have given us important guidelines.

¿Cómo descubrir la Palabra que Dios me dirige a mí en este momento?

¿Cómo descubrir en la Biblia la Palabra que Dios me dirige a mí en este momento? 

Por el Padre Cantalamessa

A esta pregunta responde el padre Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap., predicador de la Casa Pontificia.

Consejos preciosos para aprender a descubrir la Palabra de Dios al abrir las páginas de la Biblia.

¿Qué hace para escribir sus homilías y meditaciones?

--Padre Cantalamessa: [Risas...] ¿Qué hago? Leo la Palabra de Dios. Antes de pensar en mis reflexiones, trato de ponerme ante la Palabra de Dios, de buscar cuál es el mensaje que en este momento particular en el que nos encontramos, en el que me encuentro, emerge de la Palabra de Dios. En general, al inicio, es una pequeña luz, que después, poco a poco, se confirma, se consolida, que se comprende mejor a través de una situación o de un problema actual. Ayuda mucho un clima de oración, de escucha del Espíritu Santo, pues Él ha inspirado la Sagrada Escritura y sólo él sabe explicarla, aplicarla al mundo de hoy.

-¿Qué le aconseja a un cristiano que quiere meditar en la Palabra para sacar lecciones para su propia vida o para tomar decisiones de vida bajo la mirada de Dios?

--Padre Cantalamessa: Depende en parte del estado de vida, de los deberes de esta persona. Si se trata de un uso personal de la Palabra de Dios, para su propia vida, lo mejor es comenzar a utilizar la Palabra que la Iglesia nos ofrece a través de la liturgia: la liturgia de las horas, la misa... Con frecuencia, el Señor para hablar se sirve de la elección de la Iglesia, de las lecturas del día. Escuchar con los oídos atentos las lecturas del día con frecuencia revela una respuesta a un problema particular. Una palabra parece hecha a nuestra medida hasta el punto de que a veces uno dice: "¡Esto ha sido escrito justo para mí!". Por tanto, hay que valorar la elección comunitaria, no personal, hecha por la Iglesia en la liturgia.

Luego está la elección personal, es decir, releer los pasajes de la Escritura que en el pasado han tenido importancia para nosotros, que nos han interpelado. Con frecuencia, el Señor vuelve a hablar a través de los mismos textos para decirnos cosas nuevas y adaptadas a las situaciones que estamos viviendo. Por tanto, hay que valorar las palabras de Dios que en el pasado han sido para nosotros indicaciones importantes.

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FEAR UNDERMINES TALENTS

Fear is the wrong attitude when it comes to putting talents at the service of our neighbors, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope affirmed this today when he reflected on the Gospel reading from Mass before he prayed the midday Angelus with crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square. The reading was on the parable of the talents.

"The 'talent' was an ancient Roman coin of great value and precisely on account of the popularity of this parable it has become synonymous with personal gifts, which everyone is called to develop," the Holy Father explained.

He said that "such gifts, apart from natural qualities, represent the riches that the Lord Jesus has left us as a legacy, so that we bear fruit with them: his Word, deposited in the holy Gospel; baptism, which renews us in the Holy Spirit; prayer -- the 'Our Father' -- that we address to God as sons united in the Son; his forgiveness, which he commanded to be brought to all; the sacrament of his immolated Body and his Blood that he poured out. In a word: the Kingdom of God, which is Christ himself, present and living among us."

This is the treasure that Jesus has entrusted to his friends, the Pontiff affirmed.

And he said that "today's parable considers the interior attitude with which this gift is accepted and valued."

"The mistaken attitude is that of fear," the Bishop of Rome stated. "The servant who fears his master and fears his return, hides the coin in the ground and it does not produce any fruit. This happens, for example, to those who, having received baptism, Communion, and confirmation bury such gifts beneath prejudices, a false image of God that paralyzes faith and works, so as to betray the Lord's expectations."

"But," Benedict XVI continued, "the parable puts greater emphasis on the good fruits born by the disciples who, happy at the gift received, did not hide it with fear and jealously, but made it fruitful, sharing it, participating in it. Indeed, what Christ gives us is multiplied when we give it away! It is a treasure that is made to be spent, invested, shared with all, as the Apostle Paul, that great administrator of Jesus' talents, has taught us."

The Pope thus concluded that the central message of the parable "regards the spirit of responsibility with which the Kingdom of God is to be accepted: responsibility toward God and toward humanity."

And he pointed to the Virgin Mary as the perfect example of one who has this responsibility as God wants.

"This attitude is perfectly incarnated in the heart of the Virgin Mary who, receiving the most precious of gifts, Jesus himself, offered him to the world with great love," the Pontiff said. "Let us ask her to help us to be 'good and faithful servants,' so that one day we can take part 'in the joy of our Lord.'"

Homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Let us invest all our talents while we have time! 

(by Fr. James McTavish, FMVD)

In the gospel today we have the parable of the talents where the master going on a journey gives out talents to his servants. To one he gave five talents, to another, two; to a third, one. The first two men go away and immediately trade with their talents and manage to double them. They take the risk and the responsibility for what they have received. How beautiful must have been their relationship with the master. They trusted in him enough to risk investing the money received. They wanted to serve him and please him. When the master returns he is delighted with these two servants. He tells them both 'Well done, my good and faithful servants. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.’ The servants here are responsible for all the gifts they have received. In a similar way each Christian is called to be responsible for the gifts and talents received. At the end of our lives each of us will be accountable for how we have invested our talents. 

The third servant who has received one talent is not responsible. He will not take the risk, out of love, to invest. He is afraid and buries the talent. When he returns the talent later the master becomes very angry – “You wicked and lazy servant!”. The servant tries to explain why he did not invest what he had received saying that he was afraid of the master. The master will not accept this excuse. The drama of the gospel of today is that we can be sensible investors in this short earthly life or we can refuse the challenge to invest the talents we have received. Are you investing your talents or are you burying them? We can have the attitude of the first servants who invest their lives out of love. When we invest our lives in loving others we know that there will be a return even if we don’t always see it immediately. There is a real joy in investing in the lives of others and here we can share in the master’s joy. There is an interesting dynamism present here. The master says “Take the talent from him who has not invested and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” We are either in the dynamism or not. We are either growing in love or diminishing. To those who do not invest in the Kingdom the little joy they have is soon lost. 

Why did the third servant not respond? Why did he not assume the responsibility of investing for the Kingdom? Why do many not respond to God’s call to invest in the Kingdom? The real drama is that there are many investors who know that they are not investing sensibly. They know what they have to do, they realize their happiness is at stake even their very salvation and that of many others. They know many things but feel paralyzed to change. That is why St Paul exhorts all to be awake. To be sober. To not become complacent in front of the appeal of the Good News. To not fall asleep. In the medical world a person who does not react is said to be in a coma or to be unconscious. We can remain unconscious, so that the light of the Word does not make us react. St. Paul reminds us that the day of the Lord is coming like a thief in the night which is a way of saying time is short. It is important in front of the Word of God to not let our hearts and minds be hardened but to strive always to be open to the Good News. Doing this we can help many people. We will not go far wrong investing our talents in the lives of others. A sure return awaits those wise investors who invest their time, energy and talents for the Kingdom. 

Let us ask for the grace to be wise investors. To help each other discover all our talents, especially the buried ones. To take the risk out of live to invest our lives in doing good, while there is still time. 

Reflexión evangelio del domingo 16 de Noviembre

¿Cómo tengo que invertir los talentos que se me han dado? (por Luis Tamayo)

La primera cosa que llama la atención en esta parábola es descubrir la generosidad de Dios. La parabola describe a Dios como el que da. Jesús dice: “Un hombre al irse de viaje llamó a sus hombres y les dejó encargados sus bienes. A uno le dio cinco talentos, a otro dos y a otro uno”. ¿Qué se entiende de la imagen de Dios-Padre que Jesús nos transmite? Dios es dador, Dios es providente, Dios es generoso, a los tres personajes les da algo. La parabola no dice que a esos les da y hay otros a los que no da, sino que da a todos.

La pregunta que surge aquí es: ¿somos agradecidos por lo que Dios nos da? ¿Le damos gracias por todo lo que nos da?

Si uno hace una lista de todo lo que ha recibido de Dios… miremos donde estábamos hace 20 años y donde estamos ahora. A veces la tendencia es la de ver la botella mitad vacía más que mitad llena.

Yo os invito a ver no solo lo material, que es importante… sino adentrarnos en algo más profundo.  Como esa mujer en Filipinas con 5 hijos que se quedó viuda muy joven, y me decía un día con lágrimas en los ojos el día de su 60 cumpleaños… “¿Ves a mis hijos? Mira este ingeniero, este periodista, la otra contable, etc. y acaba diciendo… todo esto ha sido Dios. Pues ¿cómo iba a sacarlos adelante, y darles estudios a todos, siendo yo tan joven y viuda y con la pobreza que vivimos aquí?”

Pero me gustaría profundizar más y poder descubrir lo que no es material. Dios te ha dado la capacidad intelectual para entender, para estudiar; te ha dado talentos como la facilidad para los números, a otros para las letras, a otro para las relaciones, o para ser cercano con los jóvenes. Puede ser la capacidad para escuchar, a otros para hablar y vender. Otra cosa muy importante es que te ha dado la salud para trabajar y para sacar a tu familia adelante.

En Cebú iba muchas tardes a una capilla que estaba en el centro de la ciudad a hacer una visita al santísimo y un ratito de oración. Siempre veía a una señora mayor que al final de su oración se acercaba al sagrario y después de tocarlo con la mano se acercaba esta a las rodillas y también se las tocaba con la misma mano. Esto me llamaba la atención. Un día me acerqué y le pregunte: “Perdón me llama la atención este gesto que hace cada tarde, ¿por qué lo hace?”. ¿Sabéis lo que me contestó? Que tenía un hijo alcohólico y que tenía tres niños, la mujer lo había abandonado. Me decía: “Siempre le pido a Dios me de fuerza cada día en las piernas para seguir trabajando, pues si yo no trabajo mi hijo no puede sustentar a esos tres niños”.

Este ejemplo nos ayuda a descubrir que no sólo nos da la fuerza y la salud, que no son sólo cosas materiales… sino que nos da lo más importante que es la fe. Lo más grande que le podemos transmitir a los hijos y los nietos es la fe. 

Y volviendo a la parábola la pregunta no estaría tanto en ¿por qué da a uno más que a otro? La cuestión es ¿qué hace cada uno con lo que se le da? El mismo evangelio remarca “a cada cual le dio según su capacidad”.

En el desenlace final vemos como no depende tanto en cuanto se da, sino en lo que se hace con lo que se da. Pues a aquel que invierte lo que se da, recibe más; y aquel que no lo invierte, no sólo no recibe más sino que lo que tiene se le quita.

Poner a producir los talentos no es simplemente desarrollar los propios dones y cualidades, aunque también se incluye este aspecto, sino sobre todo aceptar responsablemente, en forma eficaz y activa, los dones de la salvación: la fe, el seguimiento de Jesús, la revelación del evangelio. La parábola invita a la eficacia de la fe, es decir, a poner por obra lo que creemos. Poner a fructificar los talentos significa ser magnánimos en la donación de nosotros mismos, a través de nuestras actitudes y acciones evangélicas que hacen presente el reino de Dios en la historia.

No reclamemos a Dios que nos de más, sino miremos que hacemos con lo que se nos ha dado… pues siendo fiel, tenemos la recompensa asegurada: “Bien, siervo bueno y fiel, en lo poco has sido fiel, al frente de lo mucho te pondré; entra en el gozo de tu señor”.

Acabo la reflexión con esta pregunta para reflexionar: ¿cómo tengo que invertir los talentos que se me han dado?

No escondas tus talentos!

"Querríalas mucho avisar (a estas almas) que miren no escondan el talento, pues que parece las quiere Dios escoger para provecho de otras muchas, en especial en estos tiempos que son menester amigos fuertes de Dios para sustendar los flacos; y los que esta merced conocieren en sí, ténganse por tales, si saben responder con las leyes que aun la buena amistad del mundo pide; y si no -como he dicho- teman y hayan miedo no se hagan a sí mal y !plega a Dios sea a sí solos!" (Sta. Teresa de Avila. Libro de la Vida 15,5).

Can you give 2 minutes to prayer...

I have come to bring you Peace

I have come to bring you peace.

Not the peace of the season,

for it is too momentary,

not the peace of the carol,

for it is too nostalgic.

Not the peace of the greeting card,

For it is too slick.

Not the peace of the crib,

For it is too wistful.

Rather, I have come to bring you peace,

Peace of the ordinary, the daily, the homely,

Peace of the worker, of the driver, the student,

Peace in the office, the kitchen, the farm.

I have come to bring you peace,

The peace of accepting yourself

As I fashioned you.

The peace of knowing yourself

As I know you.

The peace of loving yourself

As I love you,

The peace of being yourself

As I am who I am.

I have come to bring you peace,

The peace that warms you at the completion of a task,

The peace that invades you at the close of the day,

The peace that sustains you at the beginning of the day,

The peace that reinforces you when you are reconciled with one another,

The peace that touches you when your family is in order.

Without peace, my coming is unfulfilled.

Without peace, my birth is forgettable.

Without peace, Christmas is a contradiction.

I have come to bring you peace.

Invitados al banquete de bodas!

(escrito por mi amigo Paco)

Te doy gracias Padre, del cielo y de la tierra, porque has escondido estas cosas a los sabios y entendidos y se la has querido revelar a los pequeños y sencillos.
Si, Padre, así te ha parecido mejor.

Mi reflexión iba a ir por otro camino, pero hoy he asistido a la Eucaristía, como un feligrés mas, y me ha dado materia de reflexión desde el Evangelio de hoy:

Domingo, Eucaristía 19,30 de la tarde, unas 80 personas, todas de 40 años para arriba, todos vestidos de domingo, la mayoría chaquetas, corbatas. Todos muy serios, formales, educados, personas de orden ....

En el primer banco de la iglesia, dos niñas de unos 8 a 9 años, por sus rasgos y aspecto muy bien podían ser dominicanas: facciones, rasgos,morenitas, pelo muy ensortijado, ropa pobre... y como todos los niños de su edad, alegres, sonrientes, alborotadores, parlanchinas... no pararon un momento de reírse, hablar, gesticular, moverse (el rabo de una lagartija ).

Los bien vestidos, incluidos el celebrante, estaban nerviosos con el comportamiento de las mal vestidas.

El sacerdote, mientras se proclamaba una de las lecturas, miró fijamente a las rabo lagartijas, y llevándose el dedo a la boca hizo el gesto de mandarlas a callar... como es natural en niños, el silencio les duro 2 minutos....

Al terminar la homilia, sale un señor, de los trajeados, bien maduro, y con paso firme se dirige a las mal vestidas y con palabras susurrantes y gestos, les recrimina su comportamiento. Se vuelve a su sitio, pero como los toreros mira al respetable como pidiendo un aplauso por su buena faena.

Las morenitas de pelo ensortijado seguían con su alegría, con sus movimientos danzarines casi pedían que las canciones de la misa fueran salsa que indiscutiblemente bailarian maravillosamente bien ante el Señor.

Llega la hora de la comunión y el himno polaco machacón y decadente vuelve a sonar... " Tú, has venido a la orilla"... seguro que las olas en la orilla del lago donde estaba Jesús tenían mas ritmo que el canto arrastrado y soporífero del pueblo de Dios allí presente.

Una señora, con aspecto de catequista, comulga al girar se queda con las niñas en el primer banco. Se impone su autoridad materno-catequético. A los 30 segundos vuelve a su banco porque es necesario dar gracias a Dios en recogimiento y no perder tiempo con las morenitas.

Acaba la misa, "podéis ir en paz "... los feligreses van saliendo. Junto a la puerta un crucificado, los devotos se persignan ante Él y echan unas moneditas en el lampadario.

Las rabos lagartijas se acercan al Crucificado, y extienden sus manos hacia sus pies para acariciarlos, fue un gesto de ternura lleno de amor, inocencia, y dulzura, seguro aprendido de su madre allá en tierras latinas.

Una señora, devota ella del Cristo Crucificado, les da un tortazo en las manos, y con proclamación de dogma de fe y mirada de rayo, pronuncia: "!!! Aquí no se viene a jugar... con la imagen de Jesús no se juega !!!!

Miradas de desconcierto de las morenitas pelos ensortijados ..... Se oye una voz de un venerable feligrés " Están asilvestradas..son como cabras sin control" .....

Todos salimos del templo con el sobre del Domund para pedir el próximo domingo por y para los negritos.

Jesús salió también del templo, poniendo sus manos sobre los hombros de cada una de las niñas y las acompaño hasta casa....mientras pensativo pero a la vez sonriendo en su interior se decía .... " estas dos han venido al banquete de bodas con su traje de fiesta "

Story of a Vocation

Today on the 1st of November we are enjoying a Feast in our community, not only remembering all the Saints but also celebrating the priestly ordination of our dear brother James McTavish.

James, was born in Scotland on the 4th of November 1968, in a family with 3 sons: Andrew, his twin brother, and their younger brother, Daniel. Their parents Jim and Christina educated them in the faith, giving testimony themselves of a living God. James participated as an altar boy from a young age. 

He always has been a person who has been searching, leading him to leave his country and look for what God had prepared for him. “I still haven’t found what I was looking for” were key words which made him search with more insistence for God at the age of 29 years old. Being a Doctor he went to Australia to specialize. There he met the Sisters in Sydney. He had a strong experience of a living God who had consecrated James from the womb of his mother to be a prophet of the nations. 

The option to be a missionary came during his work as a surgeon in the hospital. A young man of 26 years old had attempted suicide on various occasions by cutting his wrists. After his operation James went to visit him in his room and seeing the young man looking sad asked him “Why are you sad? We have fixed your hand.” The young man started to cry and said “You fixed my hand but who is going to fix my life?” This question made James think “I can heal his external wounds but the wounds in his heart I cannot heal”. Through prayer James began to understand his calling, listening to Jesus the Good Doctor saying “I am the Life” (Jn 14,6) and realizing that the Word of God is sharp enough to enter deeply into the mystery of man and heal him in his very depths. 

James has always had a strong love for the Lord, a love which led him to consecrate his life totally, as a missionary in the Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity, professing perpetual vows on the 28th October 2006. Two months later, on the 9th December, he was ordained Deacon in Rome through the imposition of the hands of Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, Primate of Spain. Then followed two years of preparation during which James finished a License in Moral Theology which helped to deepen his desire for the priestly ministry.

Some days before his ordination James felt very calm – a fruit he said of the many people praying for him which reflected the reality of a community united in prayer and interceding for him. The day prior to the ordination we held a moment of prayer in the community of the Sisters in Fulham, London, where many Italians from our community in Nepi (Italy) were also present having made the journey to London for the special day. James shared to us how God had given him the community like a familiar womb where he had been able to grow as a person and mature his faith and consecration to God. “I received my vocation through the hands of Mother Mary” were the words which came from his heart, moved by the moment. 

James, with an indefatigable spirit arrived to the day of his ordination, despite the mild flu which accompanied him. The place of the celebration was in the Parish of St Thomas of Canterbury in Fulham, London. The ceremony was presided by the Right Reverend Alan Hopes, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, a man truly friendly and humble. With heartfelt words he welcomed James in the priestly ministry “My dear Son, by the grace of God I welcome you as a member of the priestly ministry, a ministry transmitted through the Apostles” and with a strong invitation to live the mysteries of Christ- “Know what you are doing and imitate the mystery which you celebrate.” Various members of the community concelebrated amongst whom were Greg Morgan, Vice-Superior of the male missionary branch, who presented James; Antonio Velasco, President of the Fraternity, the Parish priest Paul McGinn and various priestly friends.

After the ceremony we had a great fiesta where the community, with the family of James, offered some lovely food and various musical numbers and a video of the story of the life of our new priest James. 

We give thanks to God for the life and vocation of our dear brother James, which has been a gift for our community and for the whole Church. And he asks that we continue to pray for him that he can always maintain his love for Jesus.

Nov. 9 - Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

“We are God’s temple called to give Life” (by Fr. James McTavish)

Based on the readings: Ezekial 47, 1-2, 8-9, 12// Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9// 1 Cor 3:9c-11,16-17// Jn 2:13-22

Today the Church celebrates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica. The Lateran in Rome is considered the Mother of all Churches. We have an image of the Church in the first reading – a temple from which flows a river of life. This river vitalizes and energizes everything it touches. Wherever the river flows life flows. Trees grow on its banks which bear fruit continuously and whose leaves are used for medicine. In the second reading St. Paul tells us something very interesting. “You are God’s building.“ So we celebrate the Feast of the dedication of the basilica but it is we that have become the real, living temples of God. God does not only live in churches made of stone but also in our hearts. Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? Imagine, a Christian is really a tabernacle with legs, a walking tabernacle that can speak. God has chosen as his preferred dwelling place the human heart. He does not reside in the huge basilicas alone but also in each one of us.

In the Gospel Jesus comes to visit his Father`s house. He expects to find a house of prayer, a temple dedicated to God. He hopes to find it clean and in order. A temple where people`s thoughts will not merely be on the things of this world but also on the things of God. Imagine his surprise when he sees the temple converted into a den of thieves. Full of animals. People changing money. Noisy, dirty and in chaos.

We have two images of temples thus presented. One is a holy temple, dedicated and from it flows life. The second is a temple dirty, overrun, noisy and in chaos. If we had to consider the temple of our heart how would we find it? Dedicated and focussed on God, a house of prayer transmitting life? Or a place for business and many activities, where there is no space for God?

Jesus is zealous for the life of each one of us. We can ask him to enter into our hearts and lives. His presence gives order. His presence gives life. On Good Friday we see the tabernacle empty. Jesus is not there. The world is in darkness. When Jesus is not present in our tabernacle we experience darkness too. The tabernacle of our heart is built for the Lord and we remain restless and without light until Jesus is allowed to live in our hearts. The tabernacle is sacred and is God`s house. We would not consider placing anything else inside it. And so too our lives. When they become filled up with bad thoughts or desires Jesus tells us “Take these out of here and stop making my Father`s house a marketplace”.

When our life becomes overrun with the wild animals of pride, lust, anger and envy the only way to restore order is invoking God’s help in the sacrament of reconciliation. Jesus enters into our temple and cleanses us from our sins. How great is this sacrament! After the absolution we experience peace and order once more in our hearts. The wild animals and the bad smells have gone, order is restored and we feel we can recommence our dialogue and closeness to God. Our tabernacle light comes on and we become once more givers of life. When Jesus is in the centre of our lives then really we become life givers.

Let us ask on this special Feast day that the Holy Spirit can dedicate the temple of our hearts to Jesus and that we all can become these living temples that generate so much life.

Something to think about...

Some very good and very bad things

The most destructive habit………........................Worry
The greatest Joy..................................................Giving
The greatest loss.............................Loss of self-respect
The most satisfying work.......................Helping others
The ugliest personality trait.........................Selfishness
The most endangered species..........Dedicated leaders
Our greatest natural resource....................Our youth
The greatest 'shot in the arm'.............Encouragement
The greatest problem to overcome….....................Fear
The most effective sleeping pill............Peace of mind
The most crippling failure disease...............Excuses
The most powerful force in life..........................Love
The most dangerous pariah.....................A gossiper
The world's most incredible computer.......The brain
The worst thing to be without....................Hope
The deadliest weapon.........................The tongue
The two most power-filled words..............'I Can'
The greatest asset.......................................Faith
The most worthless emotion..................Self-pity
The most beautiful attire.......................SMILE!
The most prized possession....................Integrity
The most powerful channel of communication.......Prayer
The most contagious spirit..................Enthusiasm
The most important thing in life..................GOD THE ALMIGHTY.

Check this out...

BALANCE SHEET OF LIFE

Our Birth is our Opening Balance!
Our Death is our Closing Balance!
Our Prejudiced Views are our Liabilities.
Our Creative Ideas are our Assets.
Heart is our Current Asset.
Soul is our Fixed Asset.
Brain is our Fixed Deposit.
Thinking is our Current Account.
Achievements are our Capital.
Character & Morals, our Stock-in-Trade.
Friends are our General Reserves.
Values & Behaviour are our Goodwill.
Love is our Dividend.
Children are our Bonus Issues..
Education is Brands / Patents.
Knowledge is our Investment.
Experience is our Premium Account.
The Aim is to Tally the Balance Sheet Accurately.
The Goal is to get the Best Presented Accounts Award.

9 November, Sunday reflection

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HOUSE OF GOD

Gospel Commentary for Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

By Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap

This year, in the place of the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, we celebrate the feast of the Dedication of Lateran Basilica in Rome, the cathedral of Rome, originally dedicated to the Savior, but then to St. John the Baptist.

What does the dedication and existence of a church, understood as a place of worship, represent for the Christian liturgy and Christian spirituality? We must begin with the words of John's Gospel: “The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such worshippers.”

Jesus teaches that God’s temple is primarily the human heart, which has welcomed the Word of God. Speaking of himself and of the Father, Jesus says: “We will come to him and make our abode in him” (John 14:23), and Paul writes one of his communities: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). The believer, then, is the new temple of God. But the place of God’s presence and Christ’s is also there “where two or more are gathered in my name” (Matthew 18:20).

The Second Vatican Council calls the Christian family a “domestic Church” (“Lumen Gentium,” 11), that is, a little temple of God, precisely because, thanks to the sacrament of matrimony, it is, par excellence, the place where “two or more” are gathered in my name.

So, by what right do we Christians give such importance to church buildings if each one of us can worship God in spirit and truth in our own heart, or in his own house? Why this obligation to go to church every Sunday? The answer is that Jesus Christ does not save us separately from each other; he has come to form a people, a community of persons, in communion with him and among themselves.

What a house is for a family, a church is for the family of God. There is no family without a house. One of the films of Italian neo-realism that I still remember is “Il Tetto” (“The Roof”), written by Cesare Zavattini and directed by Vittorio De Sica. In postwar Rome a poor young man and woman fall in love and get married but do not have a home. Under Italian law at the time, once a house had a roof, its occupants could not be evicted. The couple hurriedly try to put a roof on a ramshackle dwelling and when they succeed, they are overjoyed and embrace, knowing that they have a home, a place of intimacy; they are a family.

I have seen this story repeat itself in many places in cities, towns and villages where there was no church and the people needed to build one. The solidarity and enthusiasm, the joy of working together with the priest to give the community a place of worship and a place to meet -- they are all stories that would merit a film such as De Sica’s.

We must also consider a sad phenomenon: the massive drop in church attendance and participation in Sunday Mass. The statistics on religious practice should make one weep. I do not say that those who do not go to church no longer believe; It is rather that they have replaced the religion instituted by Christ with a “do it yourself” religion, what in America they call “pick and choose,” like you do at the supermarket. Everyone makes up his own idea of God, of prayer, and he is content with it.

Thus it is forgotten that God revealed himself in Christ, that Christ preached a Gospel, that he founded an “ekklesia,” that is, an assembly of those called, he instituted sacraments as signs and conveyors of his presence and salvation. Ignoring this in order to cultivate your own image of God is to advocate total religious subjectivism. We take ourselves as the only standard: God is reduced -- as the German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach said -- to a projection of our own needs and desires; it is no longer God who creates man in his image, but man who creates a god in his image. But it is not a god who saves!

Of course, a religion that is entirely made up of external practices has no point; we see Jesus fighting against such a religion everywhere in the Gospel. But there is no contradiction between a religion of signs and sacraments and one that is intimate, personal; there is no contradiction between ritual and spirit. The great religious geniuses (Augustine, Pascal, Kierkegaard, our own Alessandro Manzoni) were men of a profound and personal interiority who were at the same time members of a community, went to church, they “practiced.”

In the “Confessions” (VIII, 2) St. Augustine recounts the great Roman philosopher and rhetorician Victorinus’ conversion to Christianity from paganism. Now convinced of the truth of Christianity he told the priest Simplicianus: “You know I am already Christian.” Simplicianus answered him: “I will not believe you until I see you in the church of Christ.” Victorinus replied: “Is it the walls that make a Christian?” The skirmish continued between the two. But one day Victorinus read in the Gospel these words of Christ: “Whoever disowns me in this generation, I will disown before my Father.” He understood that it was human respect, fear of what his academic colleagues would say, that kept him from going to church. He went to Simplicianus and said to him: “Let’s go to church, I want to become a Christian.” I think that this story has something to say to people of culture today too.

9 Noviembre - Fiesta de Ntra. Sra. de la Almudena en Madrid

María, Madre de Jesús (por Luis J. Tamayo)

El domingo 9 de Noviembre es fiesta en la Diócesis de Madrid, es la Virgen de la Almudena, y por eso en la reflexión de hoy quisiera aprovechar para hablar de María, Madre de Dios, pues pocas veces lo hacemos.

María fue madre, discípula y apóstol.

María fue madre de Jesús. María no es una mujer cualquiera. Pensar a sí es un disparate. Para ningún hijo su madre es una mujer cualquiera. María es la Madre del Hijo de Dios y esto la hace única, es el privilegio que Dios la ha concedido.

¿Quién tuvo una relación de amistad privilegiada con Jesús? María, al ser su madre, tuvo esa relación de madre, amiga y compañera, compartió con Jesús muchos momentos de su educación, rieron juntos, le tuvo que orientar, conversaciones, y como a cualquier niño le tuvo que enseñar a orar. Las tareas que cualquier madre hace por su hijo. Por eso mismo es ella a quien hemos de acudir para que nos enseñe a crecer en esa relación de amistad con Jesús.

María fue discípula de Jesús. Hay un pasaje que cuenta que Jesús estaba con una multitud de gente y María estaba cerca, alguien le dijo: “Bienaventurado el vientre que te llevó y los pechos que amamantaste”. Y Jesús respondió: “Más bienaventurado es quien escucha la Palabra de Dios y la pone en práctica”. Jesús no contradice lo que dice ese hombre, sino que eleva a María pues el sabe perfectamente que María es verdadera persona de oración, ella escucha y práctica la Palabra. No es bienaventurada por su vientre o darle el pecho a Jesús. Es bienaventurada por que escucha la Palabra de Dios y la vive.

María fue la primera apóstol. Una vez muerto Jesús, los primeros apóstoles tuvieron que escoger al número 12 pues Judas se había ahorcado después de la traición. A la hora de elegir, la condición de los candidatos era que fueran personas que al menos hubieran convivido con Jesús 3 años. Entonces, cuentan los Hechos de los Apóstoles que escogieron a dos: José el justo y Matías.

La pregunta es: si convivir 3 años con Jesús le hace uno digno de ser elegido apóstol, entonces ¿maría no sería la primera en ser apóstol si convivió con Jesús 30 años? María fue quien conoció a fondo la Buena Nueva de Jesús y quien luego reunió a todos los discípulos en el cenáculo a orar a la espera de la venida del Espíritu Santo.

María fue la madre de Jesús, también discípula y apóstol.

A María no la podemos imitar en ser Madre de Dios, pues fue privilegio único de Dios para ella, pero si que la podemos imitar en ser discípulos de Jesús y testigos de su Palabra.