And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, taking away of the spirit that was in Moses, and giving to the seventy men. And when the spirit had rested on them they prophesied, nor did they cease afterwards. Now there remained in the camp two of the men, of whom one was called Eldad, and the other Medad, upon whom the spirit rested; for they also had been enrolled, but were not gone forth to the tabernacle. And when they prophesied in the camp, there ran a young man, and told Moses, saying: Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp. Forthwith Josue the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, and chosen out of many, said: My lord Moses forbid them. But he said: Why hast thou emulation for me? O that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit!
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 19: 8, 10, 12-13, 14 R. (9a) The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls: the testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring for ever and ever: the judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
For thy servant keepeth them, and in keeping them there is a great reward.
Who can understand sins? from my secret ones cleanse me, O Lord:
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart. And from those of others spare thy servant. If they shall have no dominion over me, then shall I be without spot: and I shall be cleansed from the greatest sin.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
Second Reading: James 5: 1-6
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted: and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered: and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days. Behold the hire of the labourers, who have reaped down your fields, which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth: and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have feasted upon earth: and in riotousness you have nourished your hearts, in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the Just One, and he resisted you not.
Alleluia: John 17: 17b, 17a R. Alleluia, alleluia.
17b, 17a Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel:
Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48
John answered him, saying: Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, who followeth not us, and we forbade him. But Jesus said: Do not forbid him. For there is no man that doth a miracle in my name, and can soon speak ill of me. For he that is not against you, is for you. For whosoever shall give you to drink a cup of water in my name, because you belong to Christ: amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. And whosoever shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me; it were better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck, and he were cast into the sea. And if thy hand scandalize thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life, maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into unquenchable fire: And if thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter lame into life everlasting, than having two feet, to be cast into the hell of unquenchable fire: And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out. It is better for thee with one eye to enter into the kingdom of God, than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER How many Christians, by their example, with their inconsistency, drive people away from the Faith: the incoherence of Christians is one of the readiest weapons the devil has to weaken the People of God and to divert the People of God from the Lord – to say one thing and do another. (Santa Marta, 13 November 2017)
FAUSTI - Our unity is to go after Him, who leads us out of all the fences and opens us up to everyone, beginning with the most distant and the excluded. Being with Him, the Son, unites us to the Father and to our brothers and sisters, and forms a "us" that is not bounded by a hedge of property, but by an internal drive of sympathy towards all... And each one becomes a person in his indelible relationship with Him, the Lord. In the Name of Jesus the church embraces everyone and excludes no one... But whoever excludes one, excludes the One who has become the last of all. Besides not being Catholic, he is not even Christian: he does not yet have the Spirit of the Son who, knowing the love of the Father, died for all his brothers and sisters. Jesus is the sun. With Him in the center, we all rotate harmoniously, each following its own orbit. Diversity does not sound like a threat to anyone, it is not the object of fear and envy. It is a sign of wealth and a reason for blessing the One who gives all good. Jesus, as the centre of the Community, is the heart of all our actions and decisions. His Name is not something foreign to what we do. It's like the direction given to the arrow, which makes it reach the target. In Him, man finds his own authentic existence, that of son and brother. Outside of Him he is out of himself; he fails and falls into nothing of himself. That is why Jesus says: "Without me, you can do nothing". Entry into the Kingdom of the Father is not played out in exceptional things, but in the smallness of the simplest and most necessary. The reward for behaving as a brother is being a son. Love is manifested more in deeds than in words. In the small and daily services it reveals itself more purely than in the large and extraordinary ones, in which self-assertion easily plays a role. Every human action assumes its quality from intention. For this reason, even the slightest gesture made in His name has the greatest dignity, which will never be lost. "Welcome one another, as Christ received you" (Rom 15:7).
Jesus had given his disciples the competence to liberate from demons, that is to say to liberate from those ideologies that prevent them from accepting the message of the Good News. Well, not only are they unable to do so, but they arrogantly try to stop those who do. In fact, the evangelist writes, introducing to us John . John, together with his brother James, was nicknamed by Jesus "son of thunder", in Aramaic "Boanerghes". (3:17), which gives the idea of thunder, for their fanaticism, for their their intemperance, for their violence - who turn to Jesus saying: "Master, we saw one who cast out demons in your Name." "In the name of Jesus, identifying himself with Jesus.", and we hear the motivation, "because he did not followed us": he was not one of us. They claim that all the followers of Jesus are part of the group of disciples. Well, Jesus broadens the horizon of His community and says "Don't stop him- and this is an imperative. because there is no one who acts with force" - this is the meaning of the term used - "to prevent him"-in My name", that is, identifying himself with me, "and immediately speak ill of me". "Whoever is not against us is for us".. So Jesus admits that there can disciples even if they do not belong to the group that claims to have the monopoly of His teaching. Jesus also invites the disciples to identify with Him. In fact, He says: "whoever gives you a glass of water to drink in my name" - so He invites them to identify with Him. "will not lose his reward". The presence of Jesus and of the Father is the reward of those who welcome Him. But then, immediately afterwards, Jesus faced with this attack by John with which the disciple had even interrupted His important discourse on the service, here is Jesus admonishes them. "Whoever scandalizes," that is, whoever is a stumbling block "one of these little ones". Who are these little ones? The Greek text has the term Micron which does not indicate children; it indicates the nobodies, the marginalized, the insignificant of society. "Who believe in Me," so they are not children; they are adults who have adhered to Jesus, but they are unimportant people. Well, the words of Jesus are terrible, they are tremendous: if one of you makes stumble upon one of these people who believe in me, these people who have heard of this message of love and instead see that among you there is rivalry, these people who have heard about a message of brotherhood and instead they see that among you there are divisions "it is better for him that a millstone were placed around his neck", and that would be enough, but Jesus specifies "a millstone". There were two kinds of millstone, a domestic one, the one turned by the woman, and the one for the mill, which was used for the oil mill and was heavily moved by donkeys, "and be thrown into the sea". Why does Jesus give these indications? Jesus says that this individual must disappear , and to make sure he disappears for good, he must be thrown into the sea, but with a huge millstone - millstone - fastened around his neck. Why? The Jews were terrified of dying by drowning; they believed that if you died by drowning, there was no hope of resurrection.
So Jesus says that it is not enough to throw into the sea, because then the body can float to the surface, so we must avoid that the body floats to the surface. So we must prevent the body from floating back to the surface to be buried. So the words of Jesus are truly tremendous. And then Jesus gives a series of warnings to his community and says, "If your hand," then he will speak of the foot and the eye; the hand indicates activity, the foot the conduct, the eye the criterion by which one observes the things of life, "is a cause of scandal to you," that is a cause of stumbling for you, if you do an activity that makes you stumble. If you do an activity that makes you stumble, Jesus is radical, "cut it out! It is better for you to enter life with one hand, rather than with two hands to go into the Geenna". What is this Geènna? "Gêhinnôm" means Valley of Hinnom name of the owner. It was and is a ravine, south of the temple of Jerusalem, which at the time of Jesus was used as a garbage dump. This waste was continuously piled up and then burned to get rid it completely. So Jesus says, "it is better that, though painful, you take away something that prevents you from the fullness of life, than to end up in the garbage dump in Jerusalem." D FREDO
First Reading:
RispondiEliminaNumbers 11: 25-29
And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, taking away of the spirit that was in Moses, and giving to the seventy men. And when the spirit had rested on them they prophesied, nor did they cease afterwards.
Now there remained in the camp two of the men, of whom one was called Eldad, and the other Medad, upon whom the spirit rested; for they also had been enrolled, but were not gone forth to the tabernacle.
And when they prophesied in the camp, there ran a young man, and told Moses, saying: Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp.
Forthwith Josue the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, and chosen out of many, said: My lord Moses forbid them. But he said: Why hast thou emulation for me? O that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit!
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 19: 8, 10, 12-13, 14
R. (9a) The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The law of the Lord is unspotted, converting souls: the testimony of the Lord is faithful, giving wisdom to little ones.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
The fear of the Lord is holy, enduring for ever and ever: the judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
For thy servant keepeth them, and in keeping them there is a great reward.
Who can understand sins? from my secret ones cleanse me, O Lord:
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
And from those of others spare thy servant. If they shall have no dominion over me, then shall I be without spot: and I shall be cleansed from the greatest sin.
R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
Second Reading:
James 5: 1-6
Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl in your miseries, which shall come upon you.
Your riches are corrupted: and your garments are motheaten.
Your gold and silver is cankered: and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days.
Behold the hire of the labourers, who have reaped down your fields, which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth: and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
You have feasted upon earth: and in riotousness you have nourished your hearts, in the day of slaughter.
You have condemned and put to death the Just One, and he resisted you not.
Alleluia: John 17: 17b, 17a
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
17b, 17a Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel:
Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47-48
John answered him, saying: Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, who followeth not us, and we forbade him. But Jesus said: Do not forbid him. For there is no man that doth a miracle in my name, and can soon speak ill of me.
For he that is not against you, is for you.
For whosoever shall give you to drink a cup of water in my name, because you belong to Christ: amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.
And whosoever shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me; it were better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
And if thy hand scandalize thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life, maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into unquenchable fire:
And if thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter lame into life everlasting, than having two feet, to be cast into the hell of unquenchable fire:
And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out. It is better for thee with one eye to enter into the kingdom of God, than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
RispondiEliminaHow many Christians, by their example, with their inconsistency, drive people away from the Faith: the incoherence of Christians is one of the readiest weapons the devil has to weaken the People of God and to divert the People of God from the Lord – to say one thing and do another. (Santa Marta, 13 November 2017)
FAUSTI - Our unity is to go after Him, who leads us out of all the fences and opens us up to everyone, beginning with the most distant and the excluded.
RispondiEliminaBeing with Him, the Son, unites us to the Father and to our brothers and sisters, and forms a "us" that is not bounded by a hedge of property, but by an internal drive of sympathy towards all...
And each one becomes a person in his indelible relationship with Him, the Lord.
In the Name of Jesus the church embraces everyone and excludes no one...
But whoever excludes one, excludes the One who has become the last of all.
Besides not being Catholic, he is not even Christian: he does not yet have the Spirit of the Son who, knowing the love of the Father, died for all his brothers and sisters.
Jesus is the sun. With Him in the center, we all rotate harmoniously, each following its own orbit. Diversity does not sound like a threat to anyone, it is not the object of fear and envy. It is a sign of wealth and a reason for blessing the One who gives all good.
Jesus, as the centre of the Community, is the heart of all our actions and decisions.
His Name is not something foreign to what we do. It's like the direction given to the arrow, which makes it reach the target.
In Him, man finds his own authentic existence, that of son and brother.
Outside of Him he is out of himself; he fails and falls into nothing of himself.
That is why Jesus says: "Without me, you can do nothing".
Entry into the Kingdom of the Father is not played out in exceptional things, but in the smallness of the simplest and most necessary.
The reward for behaving as a brother is being a son.
Love is manifested more in deeds than in words. In the small and daily services it reveals itself more purely than in the large and extraordinary ones, in which self-assertion easily plays a role.
Every human action assumes its quality from intention.
For this reason, even the slightest gesture made in His name has the greatest dignity, which will never be lost. "Welcome one another, as Christ received you" (Rom 15:7).
Jesus had given his disciples the competence to liberate from demons, that is to say to liberate from those ideologies that prevent them from accepting the message of the Good News.
RispondiEliminaWell, not only are they unable to do so, but they arrogantly try to stop those who do.
In fact, the evangelist writes, introducing to us John .
John, together with his brother James, was nicknamed by Jesus "son of thunder", in Aramaic "Boanerghes".
(3:17), which gives the idea of thunder, for their fanaticism, for their
their intemperance, for their violence - who turn to Jesus saying:
"Master, we saw one who cast out demons in your Name." "In the name
of Jesus, identifying himself with Jesus.", and we hear the motivation, "because he did not
followed us": he was not one of us. They claim that all the followers of Jesus are part of the group of disciples.
Well, Jesus broadens the horizon of His community and says "Don't stop him- and this is an imperative.
because there is no one who acts with force" - this is the meaning of the term used - "to prevent him"-in My name", that is, identifying himself with me,
"and immediately speak ill of me".
"Whoever is not against us is for us".. So Jesus admits that there can
disciples even if they do not belong to the group that claims to have the monopoly of His teaching.
Jesus also invites the disciples to identify with Him.
In fact, He says: "whoever gives you a glass of water to drink in my name" - so He invites them to identify with Him.
"will not lose his reward".
The presence of Jesus and of the Father is the reward of those who welcome Him.
But then, immediately afterwards, Jesus faced with this attack by John with which the
disciple had even interrupted His important discourse on the service, here is
Jesus admonishes them. "Whoever scandalizes," that is, whoever is a stumbling block "one of these little ones".
Who are these little ones? The Greek text has the term Micron which does not
indicate children; it indicates the nobodies, the marginalized, the insignificant of society.
"Who believe in Me," so they are not children; they are adults who
have adhered to Jesus, but they are unimportant people.
Well, the words of Jesus are terrible, they are tremendous: if one of you makes
stumble upon one of these people who believe in me, these people who have
heard of this message of love and instead see that among you there is
rivalry, these people who have heard about a message of brotherhood and
instead they see that among you there are divisions "it is better for him that a millstone were placed around his neck", and that would be enough, but Jesus specifies "a millstone".
There were two kinds of millstone, a domestic one, the one turned by the woman, and the one for the
mill, which was used for the oil mill and was heavily moved by donkeys, "and be thrown into the sea".
Why does Jesus give these indications? Jesus says that this individual must
disappear , and to make sure he disappears for good, he must
be thrown into the sea, but with a huge millstone - millstone - fastened around his neck.
Why? The Jews were terrified of dying by drowning; they believed that if you died by drowning, there was no hope of resurrection.
So Jesus says that it is not enough to throw
RispondiEliminainto the sea, because then the body can float to the surface, so we must avoid that the body floats to the surface.
So we must prevent the body from floating back to the surface to be buried. So the words of Jesus are truly tremendous.
And then Jesus gives a series of warnings to his community and says, "If your hand," then
he will speak of the foot and the eye; the hand indicates activity, the foot the conduct, the eye
the criterion by which one observes the things of life, "is a cause of scandal to you," that
is a cause of stumbling for you, if you do an activity that makes you stumble.
If you do an activity that makes you stumble, Jesus is radical, "cut it out!
It is better for you to enter life with one hand, rather than with two hands to go into the Geenna".
What is this Geènna? "Gêhinnôm" means Valley of Hinnom name of the owner.
It was and is a ravine, south of the temple of Jerusalem, which at the time of Jesus
was used as a garbage dump. This waste was continuously
piled up and then burned to get rid it completely. So Jesus says, "it is
better that, though painful, you take away something that prevents you from the fullness of life,
than to end up in the garbage dump in Jerusalem." D FREDO