Contemplating today's Gospel
Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)
Help us, o God our savior, because of the glory of your name; deliver us and pardon our sins for your name's sake.
Let the prisoners' sighing come before you; with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; through all generations we will declare your praise.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
"Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field"
Fr. Iñaki BALLBÉ i Turu (Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain)Today, through the parable of the weeds and the wheat, the Church urges us to ponder over the coexistence of good and evil. Good and evil within our heart; good and evil we may spot on others, good and evil we can see in the world, all around us.
His disciples ask Jesus: “explain to us the parable” (Mt 13:36). And we can resolve to be more careful with our personal prayer, our everyday dealings with God, starting today. We can ask him: Lord, tell me why I do not progress enough in my interior life. Tell me how can I be more faithful to you, how can I look for you in my work, or through circumstances I do not understand or I do not want. How can I be a qualified apostle? A prayer is just this, to ask God for “explanations”. How is my prayer? Is it sincere? Is it constant? Is it trusting?
Jesus Christ invites us to keep our eyes focused on Heaven, our eternal home. The speed of life can drive us crazy quite often, but we seldom stop to think that there will come a day —we do not know whether far-off or near— when we shall have to settle our accounts with God and explain which are the fruits borne by the good seeds He has sown in us. And the Lord tells us that at the end of time there will be a selection. So, we must win Heaven here on earth, in our everyday life, without waiting for situations that perhaps will never occur. We have to live the ordinary heroically… the things that apparently have no transcendence. We must live by thinking of eternity and helping others to think of it, too! Paradoxically, “destined to die, humankind struggles to avoid dying, and yet, destined to live forever, they do not labor to avoid sinning” (St. Julian of Toledo).
We shall reap what we have sown. We have to fight to give today the 100%. So when we are called into God's presence we might be able to go with our hands full: of acts of faith, hope and love, which result in minor things and events that, when lived on an everyday basis, make us better Christians, better saints and more humane.
Thoughts on Today's Gospel
“Destined to die, humankind struggles to avoid dying, and yet, destined to live forever, they do not labor to avoid sinning.” (Saint Julian of Toledo)
“We must be ready to preserve the grace received from the day of our Baptism, continuing to nourish faith in the Lord that prevents evil from taking root.” (Benedict XVI)
“Jesus often speaks of ‘Gehenna’ of ‘the unquenchable fire’ reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted, where both soul and body can be lost. Jesus solemnly proclaims that he ‘will send his angels, and they will gather ... all evil doers, and throw them into the furnace of fire,’ (Mt 13:41-42) and that he will pronounce the condemnation: ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire!’ (Mt 25:41)." (Catechism Of The Catholic Church, Nº 1034)
December 8th
Second Sunday of Advent (C)
Gospel and commentary video
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