In the Walk towards the knowledge and acceptance of Christ: Year A

6TH SUNDAY – A: (Sir 15:15-20; 1Cor 2:6-10; Mt 5:17-37)
Theme: We need to buy and to obtain the True Law of Christ
Reflection:
- The law is needed because it guides us to the knowledge of the truth; it leads us to the embracing of the true wisdom
- We have to walk towards knowing and accepting the Lord.
First Reading:
- The wisdom is
o Leaving out what is bad, that is, the death; and
o Selecting what is good, that is, the life.
Psalm: our walk is always a walk with the taste and splendor and we are exactly happy because we are walking in the law of the Lord.
Second Reading:
- The world never understands the immense love of God revealed and manifested through the wisdom of the cross and crucified.
Gospel:
- Jesus himself is the New Law of God
- He came not to abolish but fulfill and perfect what was given.
- Law never makes a man slave.
- The true liberty contains in the observing the law of the creator.
- Great connection between the Law and Kingdom
o Who is least in the world becomes great in the kingdom
o One has to supersede the old law
o Ten Commandments summarized in the one great law: Love.
- Passage from the observing of the law to the living of love.

In our walk towards the perfect knowledge of Christ we accept his laws, we accept Him the True Law of God.


7TH SUNDAY – A: (Lev 19:1-2, 17-18; 1Cor 3:16-23; Mt 5:38-48)
Theme: walking with the word and action of love
Reflection:
- Becoming mature day by day
- A passage from yesterday to today and from today to tomorrow
- Daily living of the word and growing in it.
First Reading:
- A non being (do not be against your brother)
- A being for oneself (love your brother as yourself)
Gospel:
- A being for others (essere oltre)
- From hating to loving as oneself to loving as Jesus has loved us.
- Passage from ordinary and normal love to loving for love
- If our love does not supersede this ordinary love we are still in Old Testament and we are the children of the Old Law
- But now we are children of the New Law, the Law of Christ.

It is not easy to understand the depths of love; it is not easy to find the real and authentic meaning of love; but we can always LOOK at Jesus on the cross for the Word and Action of Love. This is very important in the walk of love.

In the Walk towards the knowledge and acceptance of Christ: Year A

4TH SUNDAY – A: (Wis 2:3; 3:12-13; 1Cor 1:26-31; Mt 5:1-12)
Theme: We are not alone; our beatitude will lead us.
Reflection:
First Reading:
- We have search for God and take into our hearts his ordinances
- Our Justice and our humility will make us stand upright in front of our Lord
- The presence of the people humble and poor is indeed the deed of the Lord for the rest of the world.
Psalm: Even the poor realize the power of the Spirit and proclaim to the world that “happy are the poor in Spirit”.
Second Reading:
- Our vocation is not of our own choice/our own strength. It is not because of our wisdom.
- God’s wisdom is too high that man will never be in the condition of understanding it.
- The ultimate wisdom of God is manifested in the Word made Flesh, for Jesus Christ has become for us the wisdom, justice, sanctification and redemption.
Gospel:
- Christ himself is the highest model of the beatitude
- He doesn’t just preach the blessedness or happiness but lives it.
- He has born poor (in the manger); he has cried (for the Jerusalem/for the sinners from the cross); he has made himself meek ( for he says “learn from me because I am meek and humble…. And take up my cross” and later on with the meekness without opening the mouth he takes up his cross to the Calvary); he had the hunger and thirst for the kingdom of God (my food is doing the will of my Father); he is merciful (when he saw the flock as a sheep without shepherd he is moved with compassion); He is pure (is the innocent lamb of God without stain); he is the peace-maker (calling and healing the people and making them the children of the kingdom of peace); he is persecuted (accepts the suffering with the joy). In this way, Jesus himself becomes the greatest role model for the beatitude.
- Christ appears here as the New Moses giving to the people a New Law.
- Wisdom of God (the blessedness/beatitude) is manifested in living courageously the trials and challenges of the world.

In our Walk we are blessed even if there are many hinders in the path and so we are not alone but we have the presence of Christ who has lived all these difficulties.


5TH SUNDAY – A: (Is 58: 7-10; 1Cor 2:1-5; Mt 5:13-16)
Theme: Our mission is to enter into the life of others
Reflection:
- We are in the walk with the assurance of the beatitude and happiness
- The beatitudes as the Hymn that opens all the discourse that Jesus makes on the mountain
- It is the summery of all that Jesus says and does
- Today’s gospel is an introduction to all the discourse.
First Reading:
- Light as a aurora (wakening of the day)
- This aurora:
o opens way to the another day;
o it enkindles the hope;
o it discloses another possibility; and finally
o it is a gift of God because many do not see the following day.
Psalm: the just man shines like a light; the radiance of his light peeps into the darkness of injustice.
Gospel:
- Salt generates the taste and in the world of Greeks the salt is the sign of wisdom.
- Salt results in giving out itself for the taste, for preservation and for the purification.
- Light spells out its splendor
- Light makes the one to see the thing clear, better and truly.
- Both salt and light have one nature in common: the sacrificing nature; they lose themselves to enter into others and make them tasty and shinning.

We, in the walk of faith, have the mission of not hiding ourselves (as the salt thrown in the street, or, as the light put under the bed), but we have the mission of entering into the life of others and creating in them the fruits of perfume of faith and splendor of living.

In the Walk towards the knowledge and acceptance of Christ: Year A

2ND SUNDAY – A: (Is 49:3,5-6; 1Cor 1:1-3; Jn 1:29-34)
Theme: John the Baptist, the authentic model for the testimony
Reflection:
First Reading:
- It’s God who moulds his servant
- God’s servant is called from the womb of his mother, which means, it’s not the personal choice of the servant but God’s will.
- The servant is to restore the fallen tribes of Israel in the OT.
Psalm: every servant has to realize and sing his call saying: Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.
Second Reading:
- St. Paul testifies himself as called to be an Apostle of Christ
- The true Apostle diffuses the grace of God to other: “grace and peace form God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Gospel:
- Servant stands between the revelation and proclamation
- John, as the last prophet of the OT and the first testimony of the NT, stand between the revealed Word-Christ (God in the mystery) and the redeemer Jesus-Christ (God in the history).
- John accepts himself as the testimony to the light which has come and not the light himself.
- Humility is not degrading of oneself but accepting of the grandeur of the One who has called him to be.
- The authentic testimony sees the presence/descent of the Holy Spirit and his action on the servant who is on mission.

We have the great example of John the Baptist to be followed in our walk towards testifying Christ with our words and deeds.

3RD SUNDAY - A: (Is 8:23-9:3; 1Cor 1:10-13, 17; Mt 4:12-23)
Theme: Discipleship is “Entering into the camp of Christ”
Reflection:
- Prophecy finds its fulfillment in the mission accomplished
- The Old Testament has to wait for the New Testament for its final completion
- The WORD (Christ’s origin in the mystery) Spoken in the OT becomes the ACTION (Christ’s origin as Jesus in the history)
- The salvation is not of Just a Word but of a Real Action.
First Reading:
- Light is promised to all those who live in the darkness
- Light is compared with the joy
- Light dispels the burden of the yoke of opposition
Psalm: the one who finds true light cannot but embrace it with the melodious chanting: “The Lord is my light and my salvation.”
2nd Reading:
- The one who is in Christ is not divided within himself nor with others
- The light of gospel breaks the barriers of division and unites
- Preaching of the Gospel precedes the baptism “Christ has sent me not to baptize but to preach the Gospel.”
- All those in Christ are one in talking
- The chosen one of Christ HAS point out the existing divisions and exhort for the perfect union in the community of believers.
Gospel:
- Jesus calls his first disciples, not from the house but from the working place, for fishermen, the seashore is a working place.
- Jesus call and mission does not depend on the capacity and talent of the called but on the power and destiny of the call.
- The world sees the ignorance of the fishermen in knowledge but Christ sees the knowledge of the heart, be it fishermen or someone else.
- The acceptance of the call is “to enter into the camp or sphere of Christ”
- The cost of the call is ‘to leave their securities such as home, work and all the attachments which could hinder the mission”.

In our walk towards Christ, we have to leave out what is ours and take what is of Christ and be with him IN HIS CAMP.

JOURNEY TOWARDS KNOWING THE TRUTH OF CHRIST THROUGH THE YEAR

Dear Friends,
I would like to share my reflection on the Sundays of the Liturgical Year A.
First of all let me make myself clear about two things:
one is that these reflections are all purely personal and so subject to the modification and corrections.
The other is that it's only my personal journey towards knowing the truth of God's revelation through his Word-Christ made man Jesus. I just want to invite you to walk with me in my journey so that we can together and in communion enter into the reality of revelation of God. Therefore, it's only an invitation which always subject to any form of response, either positive: acceptance or negative: rejection.
This liturgical year celebrates the word of God from the Gospel of Matthew.
The principle aspects of Matthew's Gospel are:
1. Matthew writes to the Jews and so wanted to show the Jesus is the One who is promised in the Old Testament and Sent by God as the Savior.
2. He indicates that Jesus is the Prophecy Fulfilled.
3. He shows that Jesus is the New Moses who takes the old law and perfects it and makes it new and therefore He gives New Law of God to his people (seen perfectly in the sermons on the mountain - chapter 5-6-7)
4. More than a miracle worker Jesus is the Law giver and the one who leads people to see how God's promise is fulfilled in his person (His mission and preaching - chapters 8-12).
5. The continuation of revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ.
6. The aspect of the Kingdom of God which grows from the tiny seed to the huge tree symbolizes the process and progress of salvation plan of God from the tiny tribe of Israel to the huge tree of whole humanity (parables on the kingdom of heaven - chap 13).
7. The promise of the future church on the rock (faith) of St. Peter (chap 16)
8. Fraternal forgiveness and making of the community (chap 18)
9. Awaiting for the God's reward and reality of final judgment (chap 21-25), in which also fall Jesus's bold and authoritative correction of the leaders of the Jewish people.
10. Jesus's Suffering and death which includes the institution of the Eucharist, Peter's denial of Jesus, death on the Cross which signifies Jew's rejection of another Jew Jesus and once again fulfilling the prophecy and finally resurrection from the dead with assurance of his presence through out the history of mankind.

With these elements keeping in mind as the general opening to the journey let us move forward with the mediations week by week.

Though we don't like..... we have to accept it and we have to learn from it: IT IS DEATH

THE MEANING OF DEATH

What are we when we stand in front of the mystery of reality of death?
We are limited.
We are silent.

When we are with the person in the moment of death,
- When a person breaths last noiselessly just in front of our eyes,
- When the body of the person falls down helplessly in our hands,
- When the person stops his breath even before we sense what is happening,
- Even before we rise up from the meaningless and fearful surprising questions, such as, Is everything already over? Is the life of a person completed?
- What exactly happened? What has been over? Even before we realize this unbelievable and indigestible truth,
- When all his memories pass-by, one by one, one after one, with unstoppable fastness,
- Within the few minutes of wonderful meet,
o the person who was joining us with words,
o the person who was smiling for the photos,
o the person who was sitting and watching the television with the nodding head,
- if that person slips down silent and without word,

What remains for us at the end, if not silent groaning?
What can we do at the end, if not searching for the deeper meaning of this reality?

Yes,
If we stand in front of the mystery of death, it will be clear for us:
Life and its nature
Life and its structure
Life and its journey
Life and its final destiny

In those moments of bitter experience we understand:
What it means the life and its sweetness and bitterness
The life and its tension and attention
The life and its false steps and faltering steps

Let us wake up………… another’s sleep (in death) is a waking alarm for us
Let us wake up………… another’s loss (in breath) is a regaining warning for us.
Let us wake up and walk upright, because, someone else is waiting beside us.

WORD MADE FLESH IS THE ANSWER FOR ALL THE WORLD PROBLEMS AND STRUGGLES

Christ, the Word with God and was God (Jn 1:1), taken the human form/nature (Phil 2:6-11) and dwelt among us (Jn 1:14) in order to reveal and manifest the immense love of God for the world and humanity (Jn 3:16) so that all could be brought back to the communion of God (Jn 17:21) by his reconciling act of shedding his blood (Col 1:20) and because all things were created through him and for him from the foundation of the world (col 1:17) and in him we are chosen for sharing every blessing of the Father (Eph 1:3) and everyone is brought together by his blood (Eph 2:13). This same Christ who divided the History into two: Before Christ and After Christ, is the LOVE of God manifested in the world.

Incarnation is the answer for:

The situations of Arrogance, Pride, Power and War - because - He has humbled himself unto becoming a servant and unto washing the feet of the disciples and not holding on to the power and the right he has with his Father, he has become poor to preach the peace and love by his words and deeds, by his suffering and death.

The situations of the depression, loss of life, mental stress, discouragement, helplessness, voiceless, downtrodden life, oppression and suppression - because - He is the man of truth and principles, love and compassion, courageous in testifying the immeasurable love of God for all, even when his own people misunderstood him, rejected him, mocked him, insulted him, betrayed him and finally handed him over to the cruel death. He overcame all his pathetic circumstances with hunger of doing his Father's will.

Problems of Hunger and Alcohol - because - He went on fasting and prayer and sacrifices.

Doubts of many about incensing the statues and keeping the images - because - he is the IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD.

Doubts about honoring Mary - because - He willed to take human form/flesh from her, who accepted readily to give room for the savior of the world.

Doubts of suffering of the Innocent - because - He himself is innocent, without stain and spot, without sin and yet suffered till the moment of death as a sheep being taken to the slaughter house.

For any doubt, problem or argument we can lift our head and look to the WORD-CHRIST MADE FLESH IN JESUS........ MYSTERY ENTERED IN HISTORY AND PERFECTED IT........... REVELATION FULLY MANIFESTED IN THE REDEMPTION.

JESUS, GOD'S WORD MADE FLESH FOR US, BE WITH US.....BE AS OUR SOLUTION AND ANSWER.

TREATING THE TIME WELL

Time with all its measures: may be seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years and so on...., if not treated well with its proper use, can be more dangerous. If we treat the time well giving it its own value, in return, it will certainly greet us and treat us with lot of success and achievement. In stead, we mistreat it, certainly, it has got all the power to mistreat us. Man has/can have, at least has a possibility, to have everything in his hands, more over, with the technological development wherein he is trying to created even human person without the help of the parents. But and is certain, that man cannot control 'time and its passing-by'. That is the great strength of the TIME. We respect it, take it carefully, treat it meaningfully and use it totally and we see the results. And the results are the growth of the personality, maturity of the mind, success in career, calm and serenity in life. what more do we need.

The time one passed is passed for ever. It will not in anyway return. If we does not give it its value we also pass and pass away and we will not be able to return. The work which has to be done today is really today's, not tomorrow's. The word which has to be spoken now, is the word in present tense and today's, not tomorrow's. The work postponed and word neglected, without doing them in the proper time, may have different meaning and totally different understanding tomorrow. So let us talk what is today'S, JUST TODAY ITSELF. Let us do what is today's, RIGHT TODAY. AND WE ARE ALIVE AND LIVE FOR TODAY. As someone says, "Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is a dream and TODAY is the REALITY." Yes, how true it is, let not forget us past because it's an experience but we need not live on that. Let us not neglect the future, it's a dream and hope which makes us go along but we need not build castles in the air and need not have dreams which are forgotten immediately after our wake up. Let us not worry about the present, it's a moment, it's a chance, it's an opportunity and it's a time for you to realize and actualize. Do it NOW AND NOW ONLY.
Wish you all, the best use of time and complete joy of success.
yours DAS