READING OF THE DAY First reading from the Book of Sirach SIR 3:2-6, 12-14
God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons. Whoever honors his father atones for sins, and preserves himself from them. When he prays, he is heard; he stores up riches who reveres his mother. Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children, and, when he prays, is heard. Whoever reveres his father will live a long life; he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.
My son, take care of your father when he is old; grieve him not as long as he lives. Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him; revile him not all the days of his life; kindness to a father will not be forgotten, firmly planted against the debt of your sins —a house raised in justice to you.
Second reading from the Letter to Colossians COL 3:12-21
Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY From the Gospel according to Luke LK 2:22-40
When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, They took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, He took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted —and you yourself a sword will pierce— so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER “My eyes have seen your salvation” (Lk 2:30). These are the words we repeat each evening at Night Prayer. With them, we bring our day to an end, saying: “Lord, my salvation comes from You, my hands are not empty, but are full of your grace”. Knowing how to see grace is the starting point. Looking back, rereading one’s own history and seeing there God’s faithful gift: not only in life’s grand moments, but also in our fragility and weakness, in our insignificance. To have the right kind of view on life, we ask to be able to perceive God’s grace for us, like Simeon. (Homily, 24th World day for Consecrated Life, 1 February 2020)
FAUSTI - No one has ever seen God. No one has ever known him, much less named. It is the unnameable Name, the origin of every name! “Tell me Your Name” asks Jacob (Gen 32,30); "Show me Your Glory" asks Moses (Ex 33:18), "Show me Your Face" plead with innumerable Psalms. Seeing the Face of God is the salvation of man, who finds his face again. To say the Name of God is to find the Name that substantiates every name, it is to find that "You" that makes every "I" exist. The desire of all religions is to give a Face and a Name to God. What is the greatest desire of man now finds satisfaction. What a surprise to give the Name to Him who called all things out of nothing and made them exist! The Name of God for man can only be "Jesus" that is "God saves", both because naming God is man's salvation, and because man is lost and can only know God as the One who saves him. That God who frightened us, because he is Most Holy, can be named in any place of perdition and despair, because he is Savior. God is for us lost and far from him, because he is called Jesus, God-with-us and Savior. Luke lets us glimpse the sweetness of being able to call God by name, the gentleness, the power and the brightness of this Name, Jesus. The Lord visits His Temple. But he comes with the weakness of a Child and not to judge the non-observance of the law, but to submit himself as man to the obedience to the Father whom we have disobeyed. He comes to pay our debt, offering himself to the One who has offered everything. It is a giver of Life. Presenting the Child to Him means recognizing from Him the gift of life and in Him life itself as a gift, in order to be able to draw from it in abundance. Simeon, which means "God has heard", is the man who "listens to the Word of God" and is just and pious. To him the Spirit promises that he will see the Messiah of the Lord, the consolation of Israel, (Is 40,1), the fulfillment of the Word of God. As with all prophets, the Spirit was upon him. Directed by this Spirit, he comes to meet him. The arms of Simeon are the dry two thousand year old arms of Israel that receive the flower of Life. His voice is a cry of joy, stifled by a very long wait, which finally explodes: a calm and irrepressible cry, the spread of a river that breaks the bank, the breath of all humanity, held in mortal fear, who now relaxes. Man, kept a slave alive for fear of death - in an insufficient and distressed life - is now full of life. He can retire satisfied from the banquet. Simeon's eyes no longer see the darkness before him, but the dawn of life, God's "salvation". This is the Glory of Israel, which sanctifies the Name of God and reverberates the Glory of His Face on his face. . Salvation is prepared by God "in the face of all peoples". It is not just for Israel. It is a light for all people who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Jesus is still understandable to us today only starting from the Old Testament. Simeon is also able, moved by the Spirit, to predict his fate to Mary. The Child will be both a cause of fall and resurrection for the multitudes of Israel. In fact, it brings an unacceptable salvation for everyone. This is why everyone is against him, they are scandalized by him and fall. The disciples first. But He is the Savior of all who have fallen. Here the mystery of the Lord's Death and Resurrection is foreshadowed. This is the Word that as a double-edged sword will cross the heart of every disciple and of the whole Church, of which Mary is a figure. This mystery will live on continuously in the history of the disciple who retraces His own path from the Cross to Glory.
READING OF THE DAY
RispondiEliminaFirst reading from the Book of Sirach
SIR 3:2-6, 12-14
God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.
Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
and preserves himself from them.
When he prays, he is heard;
he stores up riches who reveres his mother.
Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children,
and, when he prays, is heard.
Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;
he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.
My son, take care of your father when he is old;
grieve him not as long as he lives.
Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him;
revile him not all the days of his life;
kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
firmly planted against the debt of your sins
—a house raised in justice to you.
Second reading from the Letter to Colossians
COL 3:12-21
Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.
Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
RispondiEliminaFrom the Gospel according to Luke
LK 2:22-40
When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
They took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
He came in the Spirit into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
He took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.”
The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
—and you yourself a sword will pierce—
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
There was also a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee,
to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
“My eyes have seen your salvation” (Lk 2:30). These are the words we repeat each evening at Night Prayer. With them, we bring our day to an end, saying: “Lord, my salvation comes from You, my hands are not empty, but are full of your grace”. Knowing how to see grace is the starting point. Looking back, rereading one’s own history and seeing there God’s faithful gift: not only in life’s grand moments, but also in our fragility and weakness, in our insignificance. To have the right kind of view on life, we ask to be able to perceive God’s grace for us, like Simeon. (Homily, 24th World day for Consecrated Life, 1 February 2020)
FAUSTI - No one has ever seen God. No one has ever known him, much less named.
RispondiEliminaIt is the unnameable Name, the origin of every name! “Tell me Your Name” asks Jacob (Gen 32,30); "Show me Your Glory" asks Moses (Ex 33:18), "Show me Your Face" plead with innumerable Psalms.
Seeing the Face of God is the salvation of man, who finds his face again.
To say the Name of God is to find the Name that substantiates every name, it is to find that "You" that makes every "I" exist. The desire of all religions is to give a Face and a Name to God.
What is the greatest desire of man now finds satisfaction. What a surprise to give the Name to Him who called all things out of nothing and made them exist!
The Name of God for man can only be "Jesus" that is "God saves", both because naming God is man's salvation, and because man is lost and can only know God as the One who saves him. That God who frightened us, because he is Most Holy, can be named in any place of perdition and despair, because he is Savior. God is for us lost and far from him, because he is called Jesus, God-with-us and Savior.
Luke lets us glimpse the sweetness of being able to call God by name, the gentleness, the power and the brightness of this Name, Jesus.
The Lord visits His Temple. But he comes with the weakness of a Child and not to judge the non-observance of the law, but to submit himself as man to the obedience to the Father whom we have disobeyed. He comes to pay our debt, offering himself to the One who has offered everything.
It is a giver of Life. Presenting the Child to Him means recognizing from Him the gift of life and in Him life itself as a gift, in order to be able to draw from it in abundance.
Simeon, which means "God has heard", is the man who "listens to the Word of God" and is just and pious.
To him the Spirit promises that he will see the Messiah of the Lord, the consolation of Israel, (Is 40,1), the fulfillment of the Word of God. As with all prophets, the Spirit was upon him.
Directed by this Spirit, he comes to meet him.
The arms of Simeon are the dry two thousand year old arms of Israel that receive the flower of Life. His voice is a cry of joy, stifled by a very long wait, which finally explodes: a calm and irrepressible cry, the spread of a river that breaks the bank, the breath of all humanity, held in mortal fear, who now relaxes.
Man, kept a slave alive for fear of death - in an insufficient and distressed life - is now full of life. He can retire satisfied from the banquet.
Simeon's eyes no longer see the darkness before him, but the dawn of life, God's "salvation". This is the Glory of Israel, which sanctifies the Name of God and reverberates the Glory of His Face on his face. .
Salvation is prepared by God "in the face of all peoples". It is not just for Israel.
It is a light for all people who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Jesus is still understandable to us today only starting from the Old Testament.
Simeon is also able, moved by the Spirit, to predict his fate to Mary.
The Child will be both a cause of fall and resurrection for the multitudes of Israel.
In fact, it brings an unacceptable salvation for everyone. This is why everyone is against him, they are scandalized by him and fall. The disciples first. But He is the Savior of all who have fallen.
Here the mystery of the Lord's Death and Resurrection is foreshadowed.
This is the Word that as a double-edged sword will cross the heart of every disciple and of the whole Church, of which Mary is a figure. This mystery will live on continuously in the history of the disciple who retraces His own path from the Cross to Glory.