Contemplating today's Gospel
Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)
So there, in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the Lord, died as the Lord had said; and he was buried in the ravine opposite Beth-peor in the land of Moab, but to this day no one knows the place of his burial. Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated. For thirty days the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab, till they had completed the period of grief and mourning for Moses.
Now Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, since Moses had laid his hands upon him; and so the children of Israel gave him their obedience, thus carrying out the Lord's command to Moses. Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. He had no equal in all the signs and wonders the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and against all his land, and for the might and the terrifying power that Moses exhibited in the sight of all Israel.
Come and see the works of God, his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam. Bless our God, you peoples; loudly sound his praise.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare what he has done for me. When I appealed to him in words, praise was on the tip of my tongue.
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault… Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Fr. Pedro-José YNARAJA i Díaz (El Montanyà, Barcelona, Spain)Today, in this brief evangelic fragment, the Lord teaches us three frequently ignored but important ways to proceed.
Understanding and advice for the friend or colleague. To warn him, in discreet intimacy (“you and him alone”), clearly (“tell him his fault”), of his erroneous attitude so that he can revitalize his way of life. Eventually, if the first advice did not result in anything positive, to get also a friend's collaboration. But if even in this way his conversion cannot be achieved and his sin causes great scandal, we must not doubt to exert the prophetic and public act of denouncing that, today, may just be a letter to a publication's director, or a demonstration or a banner. However, this way of acting is very demanding for whoever practicing it, and frequently, ungrateful and awkward. This is why so many find it much easier to choose what we wrongly call “Christian charity”, which is nothing but pure escapism, comfort, cowardice, false tolerance. In fact, “the same punishment awaits evildoers than the complacent who tolerate them” (St. Bernard).
Every Christian has the right to demand from us priests the forgiveness of God and his Church. At a given moment, a psychologist may appease your state of mind; a psychiatrist, through medical care, can defeat an endogenous disorder. Both can therefore be very useful though, at times, prove to be insufficient. For God only may forgive, remove, forget, smash while destroying, the personal sin. And only his Church can tie or untie demeanors, while transcending Heaven’s judgment. And, thanks to all this enjoy an internal peace and start to be happy.
In the priest's hands and words lie the privilege of taking the bread for Jesus-Eucharist to actually become immanence and food. Any disciple from the Kingdom may join another one, or better still, many more, and with fervor, Faith, courage and Hope, submerge into the world to transform it in the true body of Jesus-Mystic. And in his company go to God Father that will listen to our pleas, for his Son promised us so, “for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20).
Thoughts on Today's Gospel
“In that silence, He will listen to us; there He will speak to our soul, and there we will hear His voice.” (Saint Teresa of Calcutta)
“Faith is not simply an individual decision. By its very nature, faith is open to the ‘We’ of the Church; it always takes place within her communion.” (Francis)
“‘Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us,’ (Rom 8:34) is present in many ways to his Church: in his word, in his Church's prayer, ‘where two or three are gathered in my name,’ (Mt 18:20) in the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned, in the sacraments of which he is the author (...)” (Catechism Of The Catholic Church, Nº 1373)
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January 12th
The Baptism of the Lord (C)
Gospel and commentary video
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