God's Message For You Today - May 31

Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Reading 1
Zep 3:14-18a or Rom 12:9-16

Zep 3:14-18a

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!

Sing joyfully, O Israel!

Be glad and exult with all your heart,

O daughter Jerusalem!

The LORD has removed the judgment against you,

he has turned away your enemies;

The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,

you have no further misfortune to fear.

On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:

Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!

The LORD, your God, is in your midst,

a mighty savior;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

and renew you in his love,

He will sing joyfully because of you,

as one sings at festivals.

or                                                                           

Rom 12:9-16

Brothers and sisters:

Let love be sincere;

hate what is evil,

hold on to what is good;

love one another with mutual affection;

anticipate one another in showing honor.

Do not grow slack in zeal,

be fervent in spirit,

serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope,

endure in affliction,

persevere in prayer.

Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,

exercise hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you,

bless and do not curse them.

Rejoice with those who rejoice,

weep with those who weep.

Have the same regard for one another;

do not be haughty but associate with the lowly;

do not be wise in your own estimation.

  Isaiah 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

Responsorial Psalm

R.          (6)  Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

God indeed is my savior;

I am confident and unafraid.

My strength and my courage is the LORD,

and he has been my savior.

With joy you will draw water

at the fountain of salvation.

R.          Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;

among the nations make known his deeds,

proclaim how exalted is his name.

R.          Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;

let this be known throughout all the earth.

Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,

for great in your midst

is the Holy One of Israel!

R.          Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

Lk 1:39-56

Gospel

Mary set out

and traveled to the hill country in haste

to a town of Judah,

where she entered the house of Zechariah

and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,

the infant leaped in her womb,

and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,

cried out in a loud voice and said,

“Most blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And how does this happen to me,

that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,

the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Blessed are you who believed

that what was spoken to you by the Lord

would be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.”

Mary remained with her about three months

and then returned to her home.
 

Comment: Mons. F. Xavier CIURANETA i Aymí Bishop of Lleida (Lleida, Spain)

The baby within me suddenly leapt for joy

Today, we contemplate the Virgin Mary's Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. As soon as she was told she had been chosen by God Father to be the Mother of the Son of God and that her cousin Elizabeth had also received the gift of motherhood, she decidedly set out for the hills to congratulate her cousin, to share with her the joy of having being blessed with the gift of maternity and to serve her.

The salutation of the Mother of God provokes that the infant Elizabeth carried in her womb, leapt with joy within his mother's entrails. God's Mother, who also carried Jesus in her womb, is a cause for joy. Families are happy when the arrival of a new life is announced. Christ birth certainly produces «good news of great joy» (Lk 2:10).

And yet, now a day, motherhood is not duly prized. Quite often other interests, which are an expression of convenience and selfishness, oppose to it. Parent's love implies an eventual renunciation scaring many married couples that, perhaps, should be more generous with the goods they have received from God and say “yes” to new lives in a more responsible way. Many families stop being “shrines of life”. His Holiness John Paul II confirms that birth control and abortion «have their roots in an hedonist and irresponsible mentality with respect to sexuality and presuppose a selfish concept of liberty, that sees in procreation an obstacle to the development of their own personality».

During five months Elizabeth did not leave her home, and thought: «Look what the Lord has done for me!» (Lk 1:25). And Mary said: «My soul glorifies the Lord (...) for He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant» (Lk 1:46-48). The Virgin Mary and Elizabeth value and are grateful for what God has given them: maternity! It is necessary that we, Catholics, find again the significance of life as a sacred gift from God to human beings.

God's Message For You Today - May 30, 2010

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Reading 1
Prv 8:22-31

Thus says the wisdom of God:

"The LORD possessed me, the beginning of his ways,

the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago;

from of old I was poured forth,

at the first, before the earth.

When there were no depths I was brought forth,

when there were no fountains or springs of water;

before the mountains were settled into place,

before the hills, I was brought forth;

while as yet the earth and fields were not made,

nor the first clods of the world.

"When the Lord established the heavens I was there,

when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;

when he made firm the skies above,

when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth;

when he set for the sea its limit,

so that the waters should not transgress his command;

then was I beside him as his craftsman,

and I was his delight day by day,

playing before him all the while,

playing on the surface of his earth;

and I found delight in the human race."

 
 Ps 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Responsorial Psalm

R.          (2a)  O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place —
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?

R.          O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet:

R.          O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.

R.          O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!

 
Rom 5:1-5

Reading 2

Brothers and sisters:

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we have gained access by faith

to this grace in which we stand,

and we boast in hope of the glory of God.

Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions,

knowing that affliction produces endurance,

and endurance, proven character,

and proven character, hope,

and hope does not disappoint,

because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts

through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Jn 16:12-15

Gospel

Jesus said to his disciples:

"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.

But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,

he will guide you to all truth.

He will not speak on his own,

but he will speak what he hears,

and will declare to you the things that are coming.

He will glorify me,

because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.

Everything that the Father has is mine;

for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine

and declare it to you."

Comment: Cardinal Jorge MEJÍA Archivist and Librarian of Holy Roman Church (, )

When He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into the whole truth

Today, we celebrate the solemnity of the mystery at the center of our faith, where everything originates from and where everything returns to. The mystery of the unity and of God, and at the same time, his subsistence in three equal and yet, different Persons. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: unity in communion and communion in unity. In this great day, we must realize that his great mystery is ever present in our lives: from the very Sacrament of our Baptism —which we have received in the name of the Holy Trinity— till our participation in the mystery of the Eucharist, which is made for the glory of the Father, by his Son Jesus Christ, thanks to the Holy Spirit. And it is also the signal by which we Christians recognize one another: the sign of the Cross, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The mission of the Son, Jesus Christ, consists in the revelation of his Father, whom He is the perfect image of, and in the gift of the Spirit, which has also been revealed by the Son. Today, the proclaimed evangelic reading shows it up to us: the Son receives everything from the Father in perfect unity: «All that the Father has is mine», and the Spirit receives all that the Spirit is from the Father and the Son. «Because of this —says Jesus— I have just told you, that the Spirit will take what is mine and make it known to you» (Jn 16:15). And in another part of this same chapter (Jn 15:26): «When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about me».

From all that, let us learn the great and comforting truth: the Holy Trinity, far from being distant and aloof, comes to us, dwells within us and transforms us in its interlocutors. And this, through the Spirit, which guide us into the whole truth (cf. Jn 16:13). The incomparable “Christian dignity”, which, St. Leo the Great, at times, speaks about, is this: to keep God's mystery within us and, thus, revel in our Earth of our own Heavenly “citizenship” (cf. Phil 3:20), that is, into the Holy Trinity's bosom.

God's Message For You Today - May 29, 2010

Saturday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Jude 17, 20b-25

Beloved, remember the words spoken beforehand

by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit.

Keep yourselves in the love of God

and wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ

that leads to eternal life.

On those who waver, have mercy;

save others by snatching them out of the fire;

on others have mercy with fear,

abhorring even the outer garment stained by the flesh.

To the one who is able to keep you from stumbling

and to present you unblemished and exultant,

in the presence of his glory,

to the only God, our savior,

through Jesus Christ our Lord

be glory, majesty, power, and authority

from ages past, now, and for ages to come. Amen.

 Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6

Responsorial Psalm

R.          (2b)  My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God whom I seek;

for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts                                                              

like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.

R.          My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary

to see your power and your glory,

For your kindness is a greater good than life;

my lips shall glorify you.

R.          My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus will I bless you while I live;

lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.

As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,

and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.

R.          My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Mk 11:27-33

Gospel

Jesus and his disciples returned once more to Jerusalem.

As he was walking in the temple area,

the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders

approached him and said to him,

“By what authority are you doing these things?

Or who gave you this authority to do them?”

Jesus said to them, “I shall ask you one question.

Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin? Answer me.”

They discussed this among themselves and said,

“If we say, ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say,

‘Then why did you not believe him?’

But shall we say, ‘Of human origin’?”–

they feared the crowd,

for they all thought John really was a prophet.

So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.”

Then Jesus said to them,

“Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Comment: Fr. Antoni BALLESTER i Díaz (Camarasa, Lleida, Spain)

What authority do you have to act like this?

Today, the Gospel is asking us to think what our intentions are when we go to meet Jesus. Some go without faith, without recognizing His authority: this is why, «the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the elders came to him and asked, «What authority do you have to act like this? Who gave you authority to do the things you do?» (Mk 11:27-28).

If our prayers do not turn to God, we have no faith. But, as St. Gregory the Great says, «when we vehemently stand fast on prayer, Jesus halts to restitute the light because God stops in the heart which recovers the light it had lost». If we have a good disposition, even if we are mistaken, believing the other person to be right, we shall welcome his words. If our intentions are good, even if we drag the weight of sin, when we pray, God will help us understand our misery, so that we can reconcile with Him, and may ask with all our heart his forgiveness through the Sacrament of Penance.

Faith and prayer go together. St. Augustine tells us «if faith is lacking, prayer is impossible. So, when we pray, let us believe and pray so faith is not lacking us. Faith produces prayer, and prayer, in turn, produces the strengthening of the faith». If our intentions are good, and we turn to Jesus, we shall discover who is He and will understand his word, when He asks us: «Was John's preaching and baptism a work of God, or was it merely something human?» (Mk 11:30). Through the faith we know it was a work of God, and that His authority comes by way of his Father, who is God, and by Himself, for He is the second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

And because we know Jesus is the only savior of the world, we turn to his Mother who is also our Mother, so that we may receive Jesus' words and life, with good intention and good will, to relish in the peace and joy of the sons of God.

God's Message For You Today - May 28, 2010

Friday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

1 Pt 4:7-13

Beloved:

The end of all things is at hand.

Therefore be serious and sober-minded

so that you will be able to pray.

Above all, let your love for one another be intense,

because love covers a multitude of sins.

Be hospitable to one another without complaining.

As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another

as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God;

whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies,

so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,

to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen.

Beloved, do not be surprised that a trial by fire is occurring among you,

as if something strange were happening to you.

But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ,

so that when his glory is revealed

you may also rejoice exultantly.

 Ps 96:10, 11-12, 13

Responsorial Psalm

R.          (13b)  The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Say among the nations: The LORD is king.

He has made the world firm, not to be moved;

he governs the peoples with equity.

R.          The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;

let the sea and what fills it resound;

let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!

Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.

R.          The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Before the LORD, for he comes;

for he comes to rule the earth.

He shall rule the world with justice

and the peoples with his constancy.

R.          The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Mk 11:11-26

Gospel

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple area.

He looked around at everything and, since it was already late,

went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

The next day as they were leaving Bethany he was hungry.

Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf,

he went over to see if he could find anything on it.

When he reached it he found nothing but leaves;

it was not the time for figs.

And he said to it in reply, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again!”

And his disciples heard it.

They came to Jerusalem,

and on entering the temple area

he began to drive out those selling and buying there.

He overturned the tables of the money changers

and the seats of those who were selling doves.

He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area.

Then he taught them saying, “Is it not written:

My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples?

But you have made it a den of thieves.”

The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it

and were seeking a way to put him to death,

yet they feared him

because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching.

When evening came, they went out of the city.

Early in the morning, as they were walking along,

they saw the fig tree withered to its roots.

Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look!

The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”

Jesus said to them in reply, “Have faith in God.

Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,

‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’

and does not doubt in his heart

but believes that what he says will happen,

it shall be done for him.

Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer,

believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.

When you stand to pray,

forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance,

so that your heavenly Father may in turn

forgive you your transgressions.”

Comment: Fr. Agustí BOADAS Llavat OFM (Barcelona, Spain)

Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it

Today, fruit and prayer are the key words to this Gospel. The Lord notices a fig tree and finds nothing but leaves: and He reacts by cursing it. According to St. Isidore of Seville, “fig” and “fruit” have the same root. Early next morning the Apostles, surprised, tell him: «Master, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered» (Mk 11:21). In reply, Jesus Christ speaks to them of faith and prayer: «Have faith in God» (Mk 11:22).

There are people that almost never pray and, when they do it, it is with the hope God will solve problems they do not know how to handle themselves. And they justify it with the words from Jesus we have just heard: «Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it shall be done for you» (Mk 11:24). They are right, and it is quite human, understandable and legitimate that, in front of a problem too difficult for us, we trust in God, in a much higher force.

But we must also add that prayers are “useless” («for your Father knows what you need before you ask him»: Mt 6:8), as long as they do not have a practical and direct utility, as —for instance— switch on a light. We do not receive anything for our prayer, because what we receive from God is grace upon grace.

Should we, therefore, not pray...? Of course, we should: now that we know that by prayer we obtain the grace, our prayer has become more worthy and valuable: because it is “useless” and it is “costless”. Furthermore, there are three benefits we do receive from the petition prayer: interior peace (to find our friend Jesus and to trust God is relaxing); to mull over a problem, rationalize it, and knowing how to raise it, is to solve half of it; and, in the third place, praying helps us to discern between what is good and what, maybe out of some personal whim, are the actual intentions of our prayers. Then, later on, we shall understand with the eyes of the faith what Jesus says: «Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son» (Jn 14:13).

God's Message For You Today - May 27, 2010

Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1
1 Pt 2:2-5, 9-12

Beloved:

Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk

so that through it you may grow into salvation,

for you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings

but chosen and precious in the sight of God,

and, like living stones,

let yourselves be built into a spiritual house

to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,

a holy nation, a people of his own,

so that you may announce the praises of him

who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Once you were no people

but now you are God’s people;

you had not received mercy

but now you have received mercy.

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and sojourners

to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against the soul.

Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles,

so that if they speak of you as evildoers,

they may observe your good works

and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Ps 100: 2, 3, 4, 5

Responsorial Psalm

R. (2c) Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;

serve the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful song.

R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

Know that the LORD is God;

he made us, his we are;

his people, the flock he tends.

R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

his courts with praise;

Give thanks to him;

bless his name.

R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

The LORD is good:

his kindness endures forever,

and his faithfulness, to all generations.

R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

Mk 10:46-52

Gospel

As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
“Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.
But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.”
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.
Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?”
The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”
Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

Comment: P. Ramon LOYOLA Paternina LC (Barcelona, Spain)

Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!

Today, Christ comes out to meet us. We are all just like Bartimaeus: the blind beggar, by whose side Jesus passed by, and who started to call him out until the Lord stopped and called him. We may have a more advantaged name... but our human weaknesses (moral) resemble the beggar's blindness. We cannot see either that Christ lives amongst our brothers and, thus, we treat them as we do. Perhaps, we fail to see in the social injustices, in the structures of sin, what through our eyes, is a scathing call for social commitment. Perhaps we do not fully grasp that «there is more joy in giving than in receiving», that «Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends» (Jn 15:13). What is nitid looks obscure to us: that the mirrors of the world lead to frustration, and that the paradoxes of the Gospel, after their hardships, bear fruits, fulfillment and life. We truly are visually weak, and this is not an euphemism, but a true fact: our will, weakened by the sin, dims the truth in our intelligence making us pick out what is not suitable for us.

Solution: start calling out, like the beggar, that is, humbly pray «Jesus, have mercy on me!» (Mk 10:48). And shout all the louder the more they scold you, the more they discourage you, the more you get dispirited: «Many people scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he shouted all the louder...» (Mk 10:48). To call is also to beg: «Master, let me see again!» (Mk 10:51). Solution: to grow in our faith and beyond our certitude, trust in who loved us, created us and came to redeem us and remain amongst us in the Eucharist.

Pope John Paul II said the very same with the example of his life: his long hours of meditation —so many that his Secretary complained that he prayed “too much”— tell us clearly that «he who pray changes History».

God's Message for you Today - May 26, 2010

Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

1 Pt 1:18-25

Beloved:

Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,

handed on by your ancestors,

not with perishable things like silver or gold

but with the precious Blood of Christ

as of a spotless unblemished Lamb.

He was known before the foundation of the world

but revealed in the final time for you,

who through him believe in God

who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,

so that your faith and hope are in God.

Since you have purified yourselves

by obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love,

love one another intensely from a pure heart.

You have been born anew,

not from perishable but from imperishable seed,

through the living and abiding word of God, for:

“All flesh is like grass,

and all its glory like the flower of the field;

the grass withers,

and the flower wilts;

but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20

Responsorial Psalm

R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;

praise your God, O Zion.

For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;

he has blessed your children within you.

R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

or:

R. Alleluia.

He has granted peace in your borders;

with the best of wheat he fills you.

He sends forth his command to the earth;

swiftly runs his word!

R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

or:

R. Alleluia.

He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,

his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.

He has not done thus for any other nation;

his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.

R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Mk 10:32-45

Gospel

The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem,

and Jesus went ahead of them.

They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.

Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them

what was going to happen to him.

“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man

will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes,

and they will condemn him to death

and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him,

spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death,

but after three days he will rise.”

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,

came to Jesus and said to him,

“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”

He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?”

They answered him,

“Grant that in your glory

we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”

Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.

Can you drink the chalice that I drink

or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”

They said to him, “We can.”

Jesus said to them, “The chalice that I drink, you will drink,

and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;

but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give

but is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.

Jesus summoned them and said to them,

“You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles

lord it over them,

and their great ones make their authority over them felt.

But it shall not be so among you.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;

whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.

For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve

and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Comment: Fr, René PARADA Menéndez (San Salvador, El salvador)

Think of the Son of Man who has not come to be served but to serve and to give his life to redeem many

Today, the Lord teaches us which our attitude before the Cross must be. The ardent love of Jesus for His Father's Will, to carry out the salvation of Mankind, of each man, of each woman, urges Him to quickly move towards Jerusalem, where «the Son of Man will be given over (…) they will condemn him to death (…) they will scourge him and finally kill him» (Mk 10:33-34). Though, at times, we may not understand it or may be afraid of pain and suffering or of every day's contradictions, let us try to lovingly join God's salvific Will with the offering of our daily Cross.

Assiduous prayer and the Sacraments, especially the personal Confession of our sins and the Eucharist, will increase our love for God and our love for others, in such a way that we shall be able to affirm that «We can!» (Mk 10:39), in spite of our misery, fears and sins. Yes, we shall be able to take up our daily Cross and follow Him (cf. Lk 9:23) for love, with a smile; that cross that is evidenced by our ordinary everyday life: tiredness in our job, family difficulties, social relations, etc.

Only if we embrace our cross every day, denying us to serve others, shall we be able to identify ourselves with the Christ, who «came to serve and to give his life to redeem many» (Mk 10:45). John Paul II explained «the servitude of Jesus attains its culmination with his death in the Cross, that is by the total gift of himself». Let us, therefore, imitate Jesus Christ, by constantly transforming our love for Him in servicing actions for other people: wealthy or poor, educated or uneducated, young or old, without distinction. Servicing actions to get them closer to God and free them from sin.

God's Message for you Today - May 25, 2010

Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

1 Pt 1:10-16

Beloved:

Concerning the salvation of your souls

the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours

searched and investigated it

investigating the time and circumstances

that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated

when it testified in advance

to the sufferings destined for Christ

and the glories to follow them.

It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you

with regard to the things that have now been announced to you

by those who preached the Good News to you

through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven,

things into which angels longed to look.

Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly,

and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you

at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Like obedient children,

do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance

but, as he who called you is holy,

be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,

for it is written, Be holy because I am holy.

Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4

Responsorial Psalm

R. (2a) The Lord has made known his salvation.

Sing to the LORD a new song,

for he has done wondrous deeds;

His right hand has won victory for him,

his holy arm.

R. The Lord has made known his salvation.

The LORD has made his salvation known:

in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.

He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness

toward the house of Israel.

R. The Lord has made known his salvation.

All the ends of the earth have seen

the salvation by our God.

Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;

break into song; sing praise.

R. The Lord has made known his salvation.

Mk 10:28-31

Gospel

Peter began to say to Jesus,

“We have given up everything and followed you.”

Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,

there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters

or mother or father or children or lands

for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel

who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:

houses and brothers and sisters

and mothers and children and lands,

with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.

But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

Comment: Fr. Josep RIBOT i Margarit (Tarragona, Spain)

Truly, there is no one who has left house for my sake and for the Gospel who will not receive his reward in the present time and in the world to come eternal life

Today, just like that landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard, the Lord is seeking disciples, followers and friends. His, is a universal call. A captivating offer, the Lord entrust us with! On one condition, though. One condition that may dishearten us: «For my sake and for the Gospel» you are to leave «house, brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or children, or lands» (cf. Mk 10:29).

But, is there any compensation? Shall there be any reward? Shall we make any gain out of it? Peter, in the name of the Apostles, reminds the Master: «We have given up everything to follow you» (Mk 10:28), as if asking: what benefit shall we get?

The Lord's promise is very generous: «but he will receive one hundred times more now in this time (…) and in the age to come eternal life» (Mk 10:30). He cannot be surpassed as far as generosity. But He adds: «even in the midst of persecution». Jesus is very realistic and He does not want to deceive anybody. To be a disciple of his, if we are truly so, will bring us troubles and problems. However, Jesus considers persecutions and troubles a reward, for they help us to grow, if we accept and live through them as an opportunity to gain in maturity and responsibility. Whatever act of sacrifice makes us more like Jesus Christ who, by dying in the Cross, saves us.

We have always time to revise our life and get closer to Jesus Christ, especially during the times of Advent and Lent. Through prayer and the sacraments, these times and all times, we can find out whether we are amongst the disciples He is seeking, and decide which our answer must be to that call. Next to radical responses (such as those from the Apostles) there are others. For many, “to leave house, brothers or sisters, or father or mother…” will just mean whatever unable us to live deeply in Jesus' close friendship and, as a consequence, become his testimony before the world. And this is urgent, don't you think so?