Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin
Lectionary: 495
Lectionary: 495
All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God,
and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is,
and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;
But either fire, or wind, or the swift air,
or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water,
or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.
Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,
let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these;
for the original source of beauty fashioned them.
Or if they were struck by their might and energy,
let them from these things realize how much more powerful is he who made them.
For from the greatness and the beauty of created things
their original author, by analogy, is seen.
But yet, for these the blame is less;
For they indeed have gone astray perhaps,
though they seek God and wish to find him.
For they search busily among his works,
but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair.
But again, not even these are pardonable.
For if they so far succeeded in knowledge
that they could speculate about the world,
how did they not more quickly find its Lord?
and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is,
and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;
But either fire, or wind, or the swift air,
or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water,
or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.
Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,
let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these;
for the original source of beauty fashioned them.
Or if they were struck by their might and energy,
let them from these things realize how much more powerful is he who made them.
For from the greatness and the beauty of created things
their original author, by analogy, is seen.
But yet, for these the blame is less;
For they indeed have gone astray perhaps,
though they seek God and wish to find him.
For they search busily among his works,
but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair.
But again, not even these are pardonable.
For if they so far succeeded in knowledge
that they could speculate about the world,
how did they not more quickly find its Lord?
Responsorial PsalmPS 19:2-3, 4-5AB
R. (2a) The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
AlleluiaLK 21:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK
17:26-37
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage up to the day
that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, someone who is on the housetop
and whose belongings are in the house
must not go down to get them,
and likewise one in the field
must not return to what was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together;
one will be taken, the other left.”
They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?”
He said to them, “Where the body is,
there also the vultures will gather.”
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage up to the day
that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, someone who is on the housetop
and whose belongings are in the house
must not go down to get them,
and likewise one in the field
must not return to what was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together;
one will be taken, the other left.”
They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?”
He said to them, “Where the body is,
there also the vultures will gather.”
Meditation: "One will be taken and the other
left"
What can nature teach us about the return of the Lord Jesus on
the day of final judgment at the end of the world? Jesus quoted a familiar
proverb to his audience: Where the body is, there the eagles (or
vultures) will be gathered together (Luke 17:37). Eagles, like
vultures, are attracted to carrion - the carcass of dying or dead animals. The
Book of Job describes the eagle spying out its prey from afar (Job 39:29). The
eagles swoop to catch their prey when the conditions are right, especially if
the prey is exposed and vulnerable to a surprise attack. Severely weakened or
dying prey have no chance of warding off forces that can destroy and kill.
Sign of the gathering eagles and vultures
What's the point of this analogy? When the day of God's final judgment and vindication comes, the scene and location will be obvious to all. Those who have rejected God and refused to believe in his Son the Lord Jesus Christ will perish on the day of judgment - just like the beasts of prey who are cut off from the land of the living. The Lord Jesus will vindicate those who have believed in him and he will reward them with everlasting joy and happiness in his kingdom. The return of the Lord Jesus at the close of this present age is certain, but the time is unknown. The Day of the Lord's judgment and final verdict will come swiftly and unexpectedly. Jesus warns his listeners to not be caught off guard when that day arrives. It will surely come in God's good time!
What's the point of this analogy? When the day of God's final judgment and vindication comes, the scene and location will be obvious to all. Those who have rejected God and refused to believe in his Son the Lord Jesus Christ will perish on the day of judgment - just like the beasts of prey who are cut off from the land of the living. The Lord Jesus will vindicate those who have believed in him and he will reward them with everlasting joy and happiness in his kingdom. The return of the Lord Jesus at the close of this present age is certain, but the time is unknown. The Day of the Lord's judgment and final verdict will come swiftly and unexpectedly. Jesus warns his listeners to not be caught off guard when that day arrives. It will surely come in God's good time!
Those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord will
enter his everlasting kingdom
What does Jesus mean when he says that one person will be taken and another left? God judges everyone individually on how each person has responded to his gracious mercy and invitation to accept his Son as Lord and Ruler over all. The Lord Jesus gives us personal freedom to accept or reject him as Lord and Savior. We are free to live as citizens of his kingdom or to choose for the kingdom of darkness that stands in opposition to God and his rule. No one can pass off their personal responsibility to someone else - no matter how close the ties may be in this present life. We will each have to give an account to the Judge of All for how we have accepted or rejected him as our lord and savior.
What does Jesus mean when he says that one person will be taken and another left? God judges everyone individually on how each person has responded to his gracious mercy and invitation to accept his Son as Lord and Ruler over all. The Lord Jesus gives us personal freedom to accept or reject him as Lord and Savior. We are free to live as citizens of his kingdom or to choose for the kingdom of darkness that stands in opposition to God and his rule. No one can pass off their personal responsibility to someone else - no matter how close the ties may be in this present life. We will each have to give an account to the Judge of All for how we have accepted or rejected him as our lord and savior.
The good news is that the Lord Jesus freely offers each one of
us the grace, strength, and help we need to turn to him to receive pardon for
our sins and healing for our minds and hearts so we can embrace his good will
for our lives and find the way to our heavenly Father's home. The Lord Jesus
gives us his Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in his wisdom, truth, and love.
The Holy Spirit helps us to turn away from sin and rebellion and to embrace
God's way of love, righteousness (moral goodness), and holiness.
The Lord's warning of judgment is motivated by his love for each
one of us. He does not desire the death of any one (Ezekiel 18:23 and 33:11).
He bids us to choose for life rather than death - for goodness and
righteousness rather than sin and evil (Deuteronomy 30:19). The Lord's 'Day of
Judgment' will bring terror and disaster for those who have not heeded his
warning or who have refused his gracious help. The Day of the Lord's Return will
be a cause for great joy and vindication for those who have put their trust in
the Lord Jesus.
The choices we make now - for or against
Christ - will either lead us on the path of life or death - heaven or hell
God's Day of Judgment is a cause for great joy and reward for those who have waited with patient hope and longing for the Lord Jesus to return again in glory and power. The people in Noah's time ignored the Lord's warning of judgment because their hearts were hardened and they were rebellious towards God. When the great flood swept over the earth, they missed the boat, literally! Whose boat or safety net are you staking your life on - the world's life-raft to short-lived success and happiness or to the indestructible Ark of God whose foundation is Jesus Christ and his victorious cross? Those whose hope is firmly anchored in heaven will not be disappointed when the day of final judgment comes. They rejoice even now that their names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20) and they look with eager longing for the day when they will see the Lord face to face (Revelation 22:4). Is your hope firmly placed in the Lord Jesus and his return in glory?
God's Day of Judgment is a cause for great joy and reward for those who have waited with patient hope and longing for the Lord Jesus to return again in glory and power. The people in Noah's time ignored the Lord's warning of judgment because their hearts were hardened and they were rebellious towards God. When the great flood swept over the earth, they missed the boat, literally! Whose boat or safety net are you staking your life on - the world's life-raft to short-lived success and happiness or to the indestructible Ark of God whose foundation is Jesus Christ and his victorious cross? Those whose hope is firmly anchored in heaven will not be disappointed when the day of final judgment comes. They rejoice even now that their names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20) and they look with eager longing for the day when they will see the Lord face to face (Revelation 22:4). Is your hope firmly placed in the Lord Jesus and his return in glory?
"Lord Jesus Christ, I place all my hope in you because you
have redeemed the world by your death on the cross and by your victory over the
grave. Help me to never lose sight of the goal of heaven that I may live each
day in joyful anticipation of your return in glory."
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13,
LUKE 17:26-37
(Wisdom 13:1-9; Psalm 19)
(Wisdom 13:1-9; Psalm 19)
KEY VERSE: "Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it" (v 33).
TO KNOW: Throughout salvation history, the prophets warned the people of God's imminent judgment, yet they ignored these messengers of God. In Noah's day, the people continued with their ordinary activities right up to the moment the flood engulfed them (Gn 6-7). Abraham's nephew Lot had to be dragged from the city of Sodom because he did not heed the warnings of its impending destruction (19:16). Jesus alerted his followers to flee Jerusalem at the first sign of the city's coming destruction. When Jerusalem fell in 70 CE, thousands died in the siege while those who heeded Jesus' counsel fled to Pella and were saved. God's judgment swiftly separated the righteous from the unjust. Those who trusted in God would find life everlasting.
TO LOVE: Do I heed the warnings of today's prophets?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to place my life in your hands.
Memorial of Frances
Xavier Cabrini, virgin
One of thirteen children raised on a farm, Frances received a convent education and training as a teacher. A priest asked her to teach at a girl's school, the House of Providence Orphanage in Cadagono, Italy, which she did for six years. She took religious vows in 1877, and when the orphanage closed in 1880, her bishop asked her to found the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to care for poor children in schools and hospitals. Pope Leo XIII then sent her to the United States to carry on this mission. She and six Sisters arrived in New York in 1889. They worked among immigrants, especially Italians. Mother Cabrini founded 67 institutions, including schools, hospitals, and orphanages in the United States, Europe and South America. Like many of the people she worked with, Mother became a United States citizen during her life, and after her death she was the first US citizen to be canonized.
Friday 13 November, 2015
FRI 13TH. Day of
penance. Wisdom 13:1-9. The heavens proclaim the glory of God—Ps
18(19):2-5. Luke 17:26-37.
'Let them know how much the
Master of these excels them.'
Do you sometimes stop to
wonder at the artist when you stand in front of a great work of art, or the
author of a book that's moved and inspired you? Wisdom is quite mocking of all
who are unaware of God and not impressed by the wonder of his creation.
There's a much harder tone in today's gospel when Jesus uses the stories of Noah and Lot to warn us to stay alert and not be preoccupied with the irrelevant and distracting things of the world. In both those Old Testament stories God came suddenly upon people.
We need to listen to God's words today and not place too much importance on possessions. John Reilly SJ says Jesus was teaching the lesson of discipleship, to be prepared to suffer like him, and to trust that God will reward our faith.
There's a much harder tone in today's gospel when Jesus uses the stories of Noah and Lot to warn us to stay alert and not be preoccupied with the irrelevant and distracting things of the world. In both those Old Testament stories God came suddenly upon people.
We need to listen to God's words today and not place too much importance on possessions. John Reilly SJ says Jesus was teaching the lesson of discipleship, to be prepared to suffer like him, and to trust that God will reward our faith.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
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Be at Peace
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Be at peace in all things, because the enemy, who always fishes in
troubled waters, takes advantage of our discouragement to achieve intentions
more readily.
November
13
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
(1850-1917)
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
(1850-1917)
Frances Xavier Cabrini was the first United States citizen to be
canonized; she became a U.S. citizen in 1909. Her deep trust in the loving care
of her God gave her the strength to be a valiant woman doing the work of
Christ.
Refused admission to the religious order which had educated her to
be a teacher, she began charitable work at the House of Providence Orphanage in
Cadogno, Italy. In September 1877, she made her vows there and took the
religious habit.
When the bishop closed the orphanage in 1880, he named Frances
prioress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Seven young women from
the orphanage joined her.
Since her early childhood in Italy, Frances had wanted to be a
missionary in China but, at the urging of Pope Leo XIII, Frances went west instead
of east. She traveled with six sisters to New York City to work with the
thousands of Italian immigrants living there.
She found disappointment and difficulties with every step. When
she arrived in New York, the house intended to be her first orphanage in the
United States was not available. The archbishop advised her to return to Italy.
But Frances, truly a valiant woman, departed from the archbishop’s residence
all the more determined to establish that orphanage. And she did.
In 35 years Frances Xavier Cabrini founded 67 institutions
dedicated to caring for the poor, the abandoned, the uneducated and the sick.
Seeing great need among Italian immigrants who were losing their faith, she
organized schools and adult education classes.
As a child, she was always frightened of water, unable to overcome
her fear of drowning. Yet, despite this fear, she traveled across the Atlantic
Ocean more than 30 times. She died of malaria in her own Columbus Hospital in
Chicago.
Comment:
The compassion and dedication of Mother Cabrini is still seen in hundreds of thousands of her fellow citizens, not yet canonized, who care for the sick in hospitals, nursing homes and state institutions. We complain of increased medical costs in an affluent society, but the daily news shows us millions who have little or no medical care, and who are calling for new Mother Cabrinis to become citizen-servants of their land.
The compassion and dedication of Mother Cabrini is still seen in hundreds of thousands of her fellow citizens, not yet canonized, who care for the sick in hospitals, nursing homes and state institutions. We complain of increased medical costs in an affluent society, but the daily news shows us millions who have little or no medical care, and who are calling for new Mother Cabrinis to become citizen-servants of their land.
Quote:
At her canonization on July 7, 1946, Pope Pius XII said, "Although her constitution was very frail, her spirit was endowed with such singular strength that, knowing the will of God in her regard, she permitted nothing to impede her from accomplishing what seemed beyond the strength of a woman."
At her canonization on July 7, 1946, Pope Pius XII said, "Although her constitution was very frail, her spirit was endowed with such singular strength that, knowing the will of God in her regard, she permitted nothing to impede her from accomplishing what seemed beyond the strength of a woman."
Patron Saint of:
Hospital administrators
Immigrants
Impossible causes
Hospital administrators
Immigrants
Impossible causes
LECTIO DIVINA:
LUKE 17,26-37
Lectio:
Friday, November 13, 2015
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God of power and mercy,
protect us from all harm.
Give us freedom of spirit
and health in mind and body
to do your work on earth.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
protect us from all harm.
Give us freedom of spirit
and health in mind and body
to do your work on earth.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel reading - Luke 17,26-37
Jesus said to his disciples: 'As it was in Noah's day, so will
it also be in the days of the Son of man. People were eating and drinking,
marrying wives and husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and
the Flood came and destroyed them all.
It will be the same as it was in Lot's day: people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but the day Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and it destroyed them all. It will be the same when the day comes for the Son of man to be revealed.
'When that Day comes, no one on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it; and anyone who loses it will keep it safe.
I tell you, on that night, when two are in one bed, one will be taken, the other left; when two women are grinding corn together, one will be taken, the other left.'
The disciples spoke up and asked, 'Where, Lord?' He said, 'Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.'
It will be the same as it was in Lot's day: people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but the day Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and it destroyed them all. It will be the same when the day comes for the Son of man to be revealed.
'When that Day comes, no one on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it; and anyone who loses it will keep it safe.
I tell you, on that night, when two are in one bed, one will be taken, the other left; when two women are grinding corn together, one will be taken, the other left.'
The disciples spoke up and asked, 'Where, Lord?' He said, 'Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.'
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel continues the reflection on the coming of the
end of time and presents to us the words of Jesus about how to prepare
ourselves for the coming of the Kingdom. This was an affair which produced much
discussion at that time. God is the one who determines the hour of the coming
of the end of time. But the time of God (kairós) is not measured according to
the time of our clock (chronos). For God one day can be equal to one thousand
years, and one thousand years equal to one day (Ps 90, 4; 2 P 3, 8). The time
of God goes by invisibly in our time, but independently of us and of our time.
We cannot interfere in time, but we have to be prepared for the moment in which
the hour of God becomes present in our time. It could be today, it could be in
one thousand years. What gives us security is not to know the hour of the end
of the world, but the certainty of the presence of the Words of Jesus present
in our life. The world will pass, but the word of God will never pass (cf. Is
40, 7-8).
• Luke 17, 26-29: “As it was in the day of Noah and of Lot. Life goes by normally: eating, drinking, getting married, buying, selling, sowing, harvesting. Routine can include so much that we do not succeed to think about anything else. And the consumerism of the neo-liberal system contributes to increase in many of us that total lack of attention to the more profound dimensions of life. We allow the moths to enter into the beam of faith which holds up the more profound dimensions of life. When the storm destroys the house, many of us blame the carpenter: “It was badly made!” In reality, it crumbled down due to our continual lack of attention. The reference to the destruction of Sodom, as a figure of what will happen at the end of time, is a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in the years 70’s AD (cf. Mk 13, 14).
• Luke 17, 30-32: So it will also be in the days of the Son of Man. “So it will be in the days when the Son of Man will reveal himself”. It is difficult for us to imagine the suffering and the trauma that the destruction of Jerusalem caused in the communities, both of the Jews and of the Christians. In order to help them to understand and to face this suffering Jesus uses a comparison taken from life: “When that Day comes, no one on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back”. The destruction will take place so rapidly that it is not worth while to go down to look for something in the house (Mk 13, 15-16). “Remember Lot’s wife” (cf. Gn 19, 26), that is do not look back, do not lose time, decide and advance, go ahead: it is a question of life or death.
• Luke 17, 33: To lose one’s life in order to save it. “Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it, and anyone who loses it will keep it safe”. Only the person who has been capable of giving himself/herself completely to others will feel totally fulfilled in life. Anyone who preserves life for self alone loses it. This advice of Jesus is the confirmation of the most profound human experience: the source of life is found in the gift of life. In giving one receives. “In all truth I tell you: unless a wheat grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single grain, but if it dies it yields a rich harvest”. (Jn 12, 24). The motivation which Mark’s Gospel adds is important: “for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel” (Mk 8, 35). Saying that no one is capable of preserving his life by his own efforts, Jesus recalls the Psalm in which it is said that nobody is capable of paying the price for the ransom of his life: “No one can redeem himself or pay his own ransom to God. The price for himself is too high, it can never be that he will live on for ever and avoid the sight of the abyss”. (Ps 49, 8-10).
• Luke 17, 34-36: Vigilance. “I tell you, on that night, when two are in one bed, one will be taken, the other left; when two women are grinding corn together one will be taken, the other left”. This recalls the parable of the ten Virgins. Five were prudent and five were foolish (Mt 25, 1-11). What is important is to be prepared. The words “One will be taken and the other left” recall the words of Paul to the Thessalonians (1Th 4, 13-17), when he says that with the coming of the Son of Man, we will be taken to Heaven at the side of Jesus. These words “left behind” furnished the title of a terrible and dangerous romance of the fundamentalist extreme right of the United States: “Left Behind! This is a romance which has nothing to do with the real sense of the words of Jesus.
• Luke 17, 37: Where and when? “The disciples asked: Where, Lord?” “And Jesus answered: Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather”. This is an enigmatic response. Some think that Jesus recalled the prophecy of Ezekiel, taken up in the Apocalypse, in which the prophet refers to the final victorious battle against the force of evil. The birds of prey or the vultures will be invited to eat the flesh of the bodies (Ez 39, 4. 17-20; Rv 19, 17-18). Others think that it is a question of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, where the final judgment will take place according to the prophecy of Joel (Ga 4, 2.12). Others think that it is simply a question of a popular proverb which meant more or less what our proverb says: “Where there is smoke, there is also fire!”
• Luke 17, 26-29: “As it was in the day of Noah and of Lot. Life goes by normally: eating, drinking, getting married, buying, selling, sowing, harvesting. Routine can include so much that we do not succeed to think about anything else. And the consumerism of the neo-liberal system contributes to increase in many of us that total lack of attention to the more profound dimensions of life. We allow the moths to enter into the beam of faith which holds up the more profound dimensions of life. When the storm destroys the house, many of us blame the carpenter: “It was badly made!” In reality, it crumbled down due to our continual lack of attention. The reference to the destruction of Sodom, as a figure of what will happen at the end of time, is a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in the years 70’s AD (cf. Mk 13, 14).
• Luke 17, 30-32: So it will also be in the days of the Son of Man. “So it will be in the days when the Son of Man will reveal himself”. It is difficult for us to imagine the suffering and the trauma that the destruction of Jerusalem caused in the communities, both of the Jews and of the Christians. In order to help them to understand and to face this suffering Jesus uses a comparison taken from life: “When that Day comes, no one on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back”. The destruction will take place so rapidly that it is not worth while to go down to look for something in the house (Mk 13, 15-16). “Remember Lot’s wife” (cf. Gn 19, 26), that is do not look back, do not lose time, decide and advance, go ahead: it is a question of life or death.
• Luke 17, 33: To lose one’s life in order to save it. “Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it, and anyone who loses it will keep it safe”. Only the person who has been capable of giving himself/herself completely to others will feel totally fulfilled in life. Anyone who preserves life for self alone loses it. This advice of Jesus is the confirmation of the most profound human experience: the source of life is found in the gift of life. In giving one receives. “In all truth I tell you: unless a wheat grain falls into the earth and dies, it remains only a single grain, but if it dies it yields a rich harvest”. (Jn 12, 24). The motivation which Mark’s Gospel adds is important: “for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel” (Mk 8, 35). Saying that no one is capable of preserving his life by his own efforts, Jesus recalls the Psalm in which it is said that nobody is capable of paying the price for the ransom of his life: “No one can redeem himself or pay his own ransom to God. The price for himself is too high, it can never be that he will live on for ever and avoid the sight of the abyss”. (Ps 49, 8-10).
• Luke 17, 34-36: Vigilance. “I tell you, on that night, when two are in one bed, one will be taken, the other left; when two women are grinding corn together one will be taken, the other left”. This recalls the parable of the ten Virgins. Five were prudent and five were foolish (Mt 25, 1-11). What is important is to be prepared. The words “One will be taken and the other left” recall the words of Paul to the Thessalonians (1Th 4, 13-17), when he says that with the coming of the Son of Man, we will be taken to Heaven at the side of Jesus. These words “left behind” furnished the title of a terrible and dangerous romance of the fundamentalist extreme right of the United States: “Left Behind! This is a romance which has nothing to do with the real sense of the words of Jesus.
• Luke 17, 37: Where and when? “The disciples asked: Where, Lord?” “And Jesus answered: Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather”. This is an enigmatic response. Some think that Jesus recalled the prophecy of Ezekiel, taken up in the Apocalypse, in which the prophet refers to the final victorious battle against the force of evil. The birds of prey or the vultures will be invited to eat the flesh of the bodies (Ez 39, 4. 17-20; Rv 19, 17-18). Others think that it is a question of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, where the final judgment will take place according to the prophecy of Joel (Ga 4, 2.12). Others think that it is simply a question of a popular proverb which meant more or less what our proverb says: “Where there is smoke, there is also fire!”
4) Personal questions
• Am I from the time of Noah or from the time of Lot?
• A Romance of the extreme right. How do I place myself before this political manipulation of the faith in Jesus?
• A Romance of the extreme right. How do I place myself before this political manipulation of the faith in Jesus?
5) Concluding prayer
How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the Law of Yahweh!
Blessed are those who observe his instructions,
who seek him with all their hearts. (Ps 119,1-2)
who walk in the Law of Yahweh!
Blessed are those who observe his instructions,
who seek him with all their hearts. (Ps 119,1-2)
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