1st Reading – Amos 7:12-15 Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos, “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying, but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.” Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14 R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD for he proclaims peace. Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land. R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. 12 Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
13 The LORD himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase. 14 Justice shall walk before him, and prepare the way of his steps. R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
2nd Reading – Ephesians 1:3-14 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love
he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace
that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight,
he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him
as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth. In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.
In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit,
which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY from the Gospel according to Mark Mk 6:7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick— no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER God’s great freedom in giving himself to us represents a challenge and an exhortation to modify our behaviours and our relationships. It is the invitation which Jesus addresses to us today. He calls us not to think according to the categories of ‘friend/enemy’, ‘us/them’, ‘those who are in/those who are out’, ‘mine/yours’, but rather to go beyond, to open our heart in order to be able to recognize God’s presence and action, even in unusual and unpredictable environments that are not part of our circle. May the Virgin Mary, an example of docile openness to God’s surprises, help us to recognize the signs of the Lord’s presence in our midst. (Angelus, 30 September 2018)
FAUSTI - "Call forth the twelve and began to send them" The Twelve were first called each one individually to follow him. Then they were formed as a community to "be with him". Now they are sent to the brothers in two by two. This passage is a "travel breviary", so that the senders do not forget to reproduce the Face of those who send them. It is the identity card of the Apostolic Church, that is, sent by Jesus - whose mission was in poverty - and passed through failure, concealment, powerlessness and smallness. Those sent to their brothers and sisters receive the greatest gift of the Father: they are fully associated with the Son, who shares in the mystery that he proclaims. With the sending of the twelve, Jesus is no longer alone. He began to be the first of many brothers, a grain that had already multiplied. This first mission to Israel is already a harvest that is sown for a later one, which will be ever more abundant, until the end of time, when all men will eat the bread of the Son. The proclamation of the Gospel is always in poverty, because it proclaims the Cross that has conquered the world. More than what needs to be said, Jesus shows concern for what needs to be. What you are, he cries out louder than what you say. It is true that the Word of God is effective in itself; it is not my testimony that makes it credible. However, my counter-attestation has the power to make it incredible. In evil I always have greater power than in good: I cannot create a flower, but I can destroy it! The poverty that Jesus "orders" comes from the joy of those who have discovered the treasure (Mt 13:44), and leads to victory over the sin of the world - which consists in the desire to have, to have power and to appear, mortal instruments devised by the fear of death. His poverty is not a deprivation, but a supreme value, rather the sum of the values of his life. For God, being Love, is poor. His having is His being, and His being is being of the other, in the gift of Himself of the Father to the Son and of the Son to the Father, in the one Spirit. For us too, poverty is the condition for love. For as long as you have things, give things, when you have nothing, give yourself. Only then do you truly love and can share. Moreover, what you have divides you from the other, what you give, unites you, and makes you in solidarity with him. As long as you are not poor, everything you give is just an exercise of power. Already in the A. Testament poverty, smallness and impotence are the means that God chooses to overcome. In fact, he chose what is foolish and weak to confuse the wise and the strong, what is ignoble, despised and nothing, to reduce to nothing the things that are (1 Cor 1:27). On the other hand, we know the grace of our Lord Jesus who, from being rich, became poor so that we might become rich through His poverty (2 Cor 8:9). Peter and John had learned this lesson well when they performed the first miracle of the nascent Church. They made the cripple walk with the words: "I have neither gold nor silver, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, walk". (Acts 3:6). If they had had silver and gold, they would have done a good work, maybe an institute for cripples! But faith can only come from the announcement made in weakness, because it is a free response to the Word of Christ. For this reason Paul presents himself in weakness, with much fear and trepidation, placing all his wisdom in Christ, and in Christ Crucified (1 Cor 2:2). And he says: "When I am weak, it is then that I am strong (2 Cor 12:10), strong in trust in God, whose weakness is stronger than men. Jesus sends his people into poverty, just as the Father sent Him.
The Lord calls and sends! Will St. Benedict , Patron Saint of Europe , help us to win? I believe the Saint .. is rooting for the Gospel and our Christian roots, may they produce good fruits of Evangelization and Glory and Praise to the Lord !!!
DIA. GIARLOTTO ing. Lodovico After Jesus' failure during preaching in the synagogue, where He was received by skepticism and Jesus Himself was surprised by their unbelief, Jesus associates the twelve to His activity. The twelve are the disciples who represent the new Israel, which was precisely composed of the twelve tribes. Jesus takes to sending them", writes Mark, "two by two", because they are a community, they do not present themselves as leaders or bearers of a message, but it must be a community that lives and proposes this message. And "He gives them power over unclean spirits". Spirit means energy, strength; when this strength comes from God it is called Holy, not only because of the quality, but because of the activity that separates man from the sphere of evil and draws him into that of good. When these energies come from realities other than God, or even contrary to God, they are called impure because they retain and keep man in the sphere of impurity, that is to say, of the impossibility of communication with God - according to the culture of the time. "And he commanded" - this is the only time he commands something in this Gospel, so it must be something very important, which we need to take seriously. What is it that Jesus commands? Jesus commands "not to take for the journey anything else but a staff: neither bread, nor bag, nor money in your belt." Why this? Because the life of the disciples must show the truth of the proclamation. One cannot go to announce the good news of Jesus, which is news in which man trusts fully trusts God and fully trusts others, a message that is one of renunciation to ambition, if one's own behavior, one's own clothing, one's own lifestyle contradict it. So the life of the announcer of the message must demonstrate the truth. So Jesus, Who is normally sparing with descriptions, here He makes a very detailed description, even of how the clothing of these disciples should be ; He says to "wear sandals" - sandals; yes, because they have to walk a lot, but not to "wear two tunics", having two tunics was a luxury of the rich. So the disciples must not deny by their own behavior the announcement of this universal Love of a God who puts Himself at the service of others. Then Jesus invites these disciples to be free from economic worries, to entrust themselves completely.
-->In fact, He says, "wherever you enter a house, stay there until you have left". until you have left there". Why this indication? Because when the Jews were on journey,they often sought hospitality only in the case of other Jews, they did not go to the houses of pagans. Why? Because the home of a pagan was unclean. Or they did not go to the homes of Jews whom they did not know were fully observant of the rules of purity or impurity regarding foodstuffs. Well, Jesus asks that you be free; in the house where you enter, whether they are observant or not, there you remain. So you have to be free in order to liberate. "But," warns Jesus, "if in some place they do not welcome you and do not listen to you, go away, shake off the dust beneath your feet." This was a symbolic gesture that the the Jews, when they returned from the pagan land, before entering Israel, they shook the dust from their sandals so as not to bring even a speck of pagan land, impure land, into the holy land. So the evangelist indicates that those who do not welcome these heralds of the message, are to be treated as pagans. Pagan then is not those who do not believe or those who believe in another religion, but those who do not welcome, those who do not help. Whoever does not reflect in his conduct the universal Love of God is a pagan. Therefore, Jesus sends His disciples to announce this message of good news, and those who do not accept it are to be treated as pagans. therefore 'pagan' does not depend on the God in whom you believe, but on the attitude of welcome and hospitality.
1st Reading – Amos 7:12-15
RispondiEliminaAmaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos, “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying,
but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”
Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.
The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
R. (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
12 Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
13 The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
14 Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps.
R. Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
2nd Reading – Ephesians 1:3-14
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love
he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace
that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight,
he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him
as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.
In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.
In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit,
which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
RispondiEliminafrom the Gospel according to Mark
Mk 6:7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
God’s great freedom in giving himself to us represents a challenge and an exhortation to modify our behaviours and our relationships. It is the invitation which Jesus addresses to us today. He calls us not to think according to the categories of ‘friend/enemy’, ‘us/them’, ‘those who are in/those who are out’, ‘mine/yours’, but rather to go beyond, to open our heart in order to be able to recognize God’s presence and action, even in unusual and unpredictable environments that are not part of our circle. May the Virgin Mary, an example of docile openness to God’s surprises, help us to recognize the signs of the Lord’s presence in our midst. (Angelus, 30 September 2018)
FAUSTI - "Call forth the twelve and began to send them" The Twelve were first called each one individually to follow him. Then they were formed as a community to "be with him".
RispondiEliminaNow they are sent to the brothers in two by two. This passage is a "travel breviary", so that the senders do not forget to reproduce the Face of those who send them. It is the identity card of the Apostolic Church, that is, sent by Jesus - whose mission was in poverty - and passed through failure, concealment, powerlessness and smallness.
Those sent to their brothers and sisters receive the greatest gift of the Father: they are fully associated with the Son, who shares in the mystery that he proclaims.
With the sending of the twelve, Jesus is no longer alone. He began to be the first of many brothers, a grain that had already multiplied.
This first mission to Israel is already a harvest that is sown for a later one, which will be ever more abundant, until the end of time, when all men will eat the bread of the Son.
The proclamation of the Gospel is always in poverty, because it proclaims the Cross that has conquered the world.
More than what needs to be said, Jesus shows concern for what needs to be.
What you are, he cries out louder than what you say.
It is true that the Word of God is effective in itself; it is not my testimony that makes it credible.
However, my counter-attestation has the power to make it incredible.
In evil I always have greater power than in good: I cannot create a flower, but I can destroy it!
The poverty that Jesus "orders" comes from the joy of those who have discovered the treasure (Mt 13:44), and leads to victory over the sin of the world - which consists in the desire to have, to have power and to appear, mortal instruments devised by the fear of death.
His poverty is not a deprivation, but a supreme value, rather the sum of the values of his life.
For God, being Love, is poor. His having is His being, and His being is being of the other, in the gift of Himself of the Father to the Son and of the Son to the Father, in the one Spirit.
For us too, poverty is the condition for love.
For as long as you have things, give things, when you have nothing, give yourself.
Only then do you truly love and can share.
Moreover, what you have divides you from the other, what you give, unites you, and makes you in solidarity with him.
As long as you are not poor, everything you give is just an exercise of power.
Already in the A. Testament poverty, smallness and impotence are the means that God chooses to overcome.
In fact, he chose what is foolish and weak to confuse the wise and the strong, what is ignoble, despised and nothing, to reduce to nothing the things that are (1 Cor 1:27).
On the other hand, we know the grace of our Lord Jesus who, from being rich, became poor so that we might become rich through His poverty (2 Cor 8:9).
Peter and John had learned this lesson well when they performed the first miracle of the nascent Church. They made the cripple walk with the words: "I have neither gold nor silver, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, walk". (Acts 3:6).
If they had had silver and gold, they would have done a good work, maybe an institute for cripples! But faith can only come from the announcement made in weakness, because it is a free response to the Word of Christ.
For this reason Paul presents himself in weakness, with much fear and trepidation, placing all his wisdom in Christ, and in Christ Crucified (1 Cor 2:2). And he says: "When I am weak, it is then that I am strong (2 Cor 12:10), strong in trust in God, whose weakness is stronger than men.
Jesus sends his people into poverty, just as the Father sent Him.
The Lord calls and sends! Will St. Benedict , Patron Saint of Europe , help us to win? I believe the Saint .. is rooting for the Gospel and our Christian roots, may they produce good fruits of Evangelization and Glory and Praise to the Lord !!!
RispondiEliminaDIA. GIARLOTTO ing. Lodovico
RispondiEliminaAfter Jesus' failure during preaching in the synagogue, where He was
received by skepticism and Jesus Himself was surprised by their unbelief, Jesus
associates the twelve to His activity. The twelve are the disciples who represent the new Israel, which was precisely composed of the twelve tribes.
Jesus takes to sending them", writes Mark, "two by two", because they are a community,
they do not present themselves as leaders or bearers of a message, but it must be a
community that lives and proposes this message. And "He gives them power over unclean spirits". Spirit means energy, strength; when this strength comes from God it is called Holy, not only because of the quality, but because of the activity that separates man from the sphere of evil and draws him into that of good. When these energies come from realities other than God, or even contrary to God, they are called impure because they retain and keep man in the sphere of impurity, that is to say, of the impossibility of communication with God - according to the culture of the time.
"And he commanded" - this is the only time he commands something in this Gospel, so it must be something very important, which we need to take seriously. What is it that Jesus commands? Jesus commands "not to take for the journey anything else but a staff: neither bread, nor bag, nor money in your belt." Why this?
Because the life of the disciples must show the truth of the proclamation. One cannot go to announce the good news of Jesus, which is news in which man trusts
fully trusts God and fully trusts others, a message that is one of renunciation to
ambition, if one's own behavior, one's own clothing, one's own lifestyle
contradict it. So the life of the announcer of the message
must demonstrate the truth. So Jesus, Who is normally sparing with descriptions, here He makes a very detailed description, even of how the clothing of these disciples should be ; He says to "wear sandals" - sandals; yes, because they have to walk a lot, but not to "wear two tunics", having two tunics was a luxury of the rich.
So the disciples must not deny by their own behavior
the announcement of this universal Love of a God who puts Himself at the service of others.
Then Jesus invites these disciples to be free from economic worries, to entrust themselves completely.
-->In fact, He says, "wherever you enter a house, stay there until you have left".
RispondiEliminauntil you have left there". Why this indication? Because when the Jews were on journey,they often sought hospitality only in the case of other Jews, they did not go to the houses of pagans.
Why? Because the home of a pagan was unclean.
Or they did not go to the homes of Jews whom they did not know were fully
observant of the rules of purity or impurity regarding foodstuffs.
Well, Jesus asks that you be free; in the house where you enter, whether they are observant or not, there you remain. So you have to be free in order to liberate. "But," warns Jesus, "if in some place they do not welcome you and do not listen to you, go away, shake off the dust beneath your feet." This was a symbolic gesture that the
the Jews, when they returned from the pagan land, before entering Israel,
they shook the dust from their sandals so as not to bring even a speck of pagan land, impure land, into the holy land.
So the evangelist indicates that those who do not
welcome these heralds of the message, are to be treated as pagans.
Pagan then is not those who do not believe or those who believe in another religion, but those who do not
welcome, those who do not help. Whoever does not reflect in his conduct the
universal Love of God is a pagan. Therefore, Jesus sends His disciples to announce
this message of good news, and those who do not accept it are to be treated as pagans. therefore 'pagan' does not depend on the God in whom you believe, but
on the attitude of welcome and hospitality.