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Thứ Hai, 21 tháng 8, 2017

AUGUST 22, 2017 : MEMORIAL OF THE QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 420

Reading 1JGS 6:11-24A
The angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth in Ophrah
that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite.
While his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press
to save it from the Midianites,
the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said,
"The LORD is with you, O champion!"
Gideon said to him, "My Lord, if the LORD is with us,
why has all this happened to us?
Where are his wondrous deeds of which our fathers
told us when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?'
For now the LORD has abandoned us
and has delivered us into the power of Midian."
The LORD turned to him and said, "Go with the strength you have
and save Israel from the power of Midian.
It is I who send you."
But Gideon answered him, "Please, my lord, how can I save Israel?
My family is the lowliest in Manasseh,
and I am the most insignificant in my father's house."
"I shall be with you," the LORD said to him,
"and you will cut down Midian to the last man."
Gideon answered him, "If I find favor with you,
give me a sign that you are speaking with me.
Do not depart from here, I pray you, until I come back to you
and bring out my offering and set it before you."
He answered, "I will await your return."

So Gideon went off and prepared a kid and a measure of flour
in the form of unleavened cakes.
Putting the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot,
he brought them out to him under the terebinth
and presented them.
The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and unleavened cakes
and lay them on this rock; then pour out the broth."
When he had done so,
the angel of the LORD stretched out the tip of the staff he held,
and touched the meat and unleavened cakes.
Thereupon a fire came up from the rock
that consumed the meat and unleavened cakes,
and the angel of the LORD disappeared from sight.
Gideon, now aware that it had been the angel of the LORD,
said, "Alas, Lord GOD,
that I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!"
The LORD answered him,
"Be calm, do not fear. You shall not die."
So Gideon built there an altar to the LORD
and called it Yahweh-shalom.

Responsorial PsalmPS 85:9, 11-12, 13-14
R. (see 9b) The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace
To his people, and to his faithful ones,
and to those who put in him their hope.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

Alleluia2 COR 8:9
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Again I say to you,
it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God."
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,
"Who then can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible."
Then Peter said to him in reply,
"We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?"
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."


Meditation: Who can enter the kingdom of heaven?
Was Jesus really against wealth (Matthew 19:23)? And why did he issue such a strong warning to the rich (as well as to the rest of us who desire to be rich)? We know that Jesus was not opposed to wealth per se, nor was he opposed to the wealthy. He had many friends who were well-to-do, including some notorious tax collectors! One even became an apostle! Jesus' warning reiterated the wisdom of the Old Testament:  "Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is perverse in his ways" (Proverbs 28:6; see also Psalm 37:16). "Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to desist" (Proverbs 23:4). 
We are all poor beggars in need of God
Jesus seems to say that it is nearly impossible for the rich to live as citizens of God's kingdom. The camel was regarded as the largest animal in Palestine. The "eye of the needle" could be interpreted quite literally or it could figuratively describe the narrow and low gate of the city walls which was used by travelers when the larger public gate was locked at night. Normal sized people had to "lower" themselves to enter that gate. A camel would literally have to kneel and crawl through it. Until we humbly kneel before the Lord and acknowledge our total need and dependence on him, we will not find true peace, security, and happiness that can sustain us now and forever. Only God alone can satisfy our deepest need and longing.
Augustine of Hippo reminds us that we are all poor beggars of God. 
"Even though you possess plenty, you are still poor. You abound in temporal possessions, but you need things eternal. You listen to the needs of a human beggar, yet you yourself are a beggar of God. What you do with those who beg from you is what God will do with his beggar. You are filled and you are empty. Fill your empty neighbor from your fullness, so that your emptiness may be filled with God's fullness." (Sermon 56,9)
Possessions can create false security and independence
Why is Jesus so cautious about wealth? Wealth can make us falsely independent. The church at Laodicea was warned about their attitude towards wealth and a false sense of security: "For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing" (Revelations 3:17). Wealth can also lead us into hurtful desires and selfishness (see 1 Timothy 6:9-10). Look at the lesson Jesus gave about the rich man and his sons who refused to aid the poor man Lazarus (see Luke 16:19ff). They neglected to serve God. Only those who put their trust in God and who depend on him, and who share what they have with those in need, will find true peace, security, and happiness which lead to everlasting life and joy in God's kingdom.
Where is your treasure?
The Scriptures give us a paradox - we lose what we keep and we gain what we give away. Generosity will be amply repaid, both in this life and in the age to come (Proverbs 3:9-10, Luke 6:38). Jesus offers us an incomparable treasure which no money can buy and no thief can steal. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest treasure. Material wealth will shackle us, like a bound slave, to this earth unless we guard our heart and set our treasure in God and his kingdom of everlasting life and joy. Where is your treasure?
"Lord Jesus, you have captured our hearts and opened to us the treasures of heaven. May you always be my treasure and delight and may nothing else keep me from giving you my all."
Daily Quote from the early church fathersWho can enter the kingdom of heaven? by John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D.
"What then did Christ say? 'How difficult it will be for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.' He was not criticizing money itself but the wills of those who are taken captive by it. If it will be difficult for the rich, how much more so for the avaricious! For if stinginess with one’s own wealth is an impediment to gaining the kingdom, think how much fire is amassed for taking someone else's. But why does he say that it is hard for the rich man to enter the kingdom, to the disciples, who were poor and had nothing? He teaches them not to be ashamed of their poverty and, as it were, gives the reason why he did not allow them to possess anything. After saying it is hard, he also shows them that it is impossible, and not simply impossible but even in an exaggerated way impossible. He shows this from the comparison of the camel and the needle: 'It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.' Hence Christ demonstrates that there is a significant reward for the wealthy who can practice self-denial. He also said that this had to be the work of God, that he might show that great grace is needed for anyone who is going to achieve it." (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 63.2)

TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, MATTHEW 19:23-30
(Judges 6:11-24a; Psalm 85)

KEY VERSE: "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven" (v 23).
TO KNOW: Jesus told a wealthy man that to follow the path to perfection, it was necessary to surrender his material possessions and give to the poor. When the young man was unable to do this, it provided Jesus with an opportunity to teach his disciples about wealth. He said that riches could be an obstacle to entering the reign of God. He used the humorous metaphor of a camel trying to pass through the narrow eye of a needle to illustrate the difficulty of this task. The disciples were overwhelmed by what seemed an impossibility and cried out, "Who then can be saved?" (v 25b). Jesus answered that nothing was impossible with God. Peter boasted that he and the disciples had given up everything to follow Jesus, and asked how they would be rewarded. Jesus explained that the reign of God was freely given; it was a gift that could not be earned. But he promised them that in the age to come they would share his authority and sit with him in judgment of God's people.
TO LOVE: Is there anything I am unwilling to relinquish for the sake of God's reign?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, you are more precious than any earthly possession I have.

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On October 11, 1954, four years after he declared the dogma of the Assumption of Mary, Pope Pius XII, in an encyclical letter, Ad Caeli Reginam, decreed and instituted the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He formalized the Church's tradition from the earliest centuries, which rested on both Holy Scripture and tradition - "All glorious is the king’s daughter as she enters, her raiment threaded with gold; in embroidered apparel she is led to the king" (Ps 45:14). The coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven fulfilled her own prophecy that "all generations will call me blessed." On another level, it prophesizes the triumph of Mary yet to come. The Book of Revelation states that, at the end of the world, Mary, crowned with twelve stars, will crush the head of the serpent beneath her feet [Rev 12:1-18]. Pope Paul VI wrote, "The Solemnity of the Assumption is prolonged in the celebration of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which occurs seven days later. On this occasion we contemplate her who, seated beside the King of ages, shines forth as Queen and intercedes as Mother" (Marialis Cultus - For the Right Ordering and Development of Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary - 2 February 1974).


Tuesday 22 August 2017

Queenship of Mary.
Judges 6:11-24. Psalm 84(85):9, 11-14. Matthew 19:23-30.
The Lord speaks of peace to his people — Psalm 84(85):9, 11-14.
‘I am the least in my family.’
What a wonderful story we read today about Gideon. When the angel told him that the Lord was with him, Gideon wanted to know why, if that was the case, so many bad things had happened to him and his people. Then we hear Jesus tell us that it is difficult for rich people to get into heaven. As we live in one of the richest countries in the world, this is depressing news.
So, dear Lord, what do you want us to learn from all this? The answer you give to Gideon is, ‘Peace be to you; do not fear; you shall not die.’ You looked at your disciples and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.’


QUEENSHIP OF MARY

In this feast, particularly cherished by the Popes of modern times, we celebrate Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Pope Pius XII in the Papal Encyclical Ad Coeli Reginam proposed the traditional doctrine on the Queenship of Mary and established this feast for the Universal Church.
Pope Pius IX said of Mary's queenship: "Turning her maternal Heart toward us and dealing with the affair of our salvation, she is concerned with the whole human race. Constituted by the Lord Queen of Heaven and earth, and exalted above all choirs of Angels and the ranks of Saints in Heaven, standing at the right hand of Her only-begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, she petitions most powerfully with Her maternal prayers, and she obtains what she seeks."
And Pope Pius XII added the following: "We commend that on the festival there be renewed the consecration of the human race to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Upon this there is founded a great hope that there will rejoice in the triumph of religion and in Christian peace...
...Therefore, let all approach with greater confidence now than before, to the throne of mercy and grace of our Queen and Mother to beg help in difficultly, light in darkness and solace in trouble and sorrow...
. . Whoever, therefore, honours the lady ruler of the Angels and of men - and let no one think themselves exempt from the payment of that tribute of a grateful and loving soul - let them call upon her as most truly Queen and as the Queen who brings the blessings of peace, that She may show us all, after this exile, Jesus, who will be our enduring peace and joy."


LECTIO DIVINA: THE QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Lectio Divina: 
 Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
may we love you in all things and above all things
and reach the joy you have prepared for us
beyond all our imagining.
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 1,26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. He went in and said to her, 'Rejoice, you who enjoy God's favour! The Lord is with you.' She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.'
Mary said to the angel, 'But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.'
Mary said, 'You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said.' And the angel left her.
3) Reflection
• Today is the Feast of Mary Queen. The text of the Gospel on which we meditate describes the visit of the angel to Mary (Lk 1, 26-38). The word of God comes to Mary not through a Biblical text, but rather through a profound experience of God, manifested in the visit of the Angel. In the New Testament, many times, the Angel of God is God himself. It was thanks to the meditation on the written Word of God in the Bible that Mary was capable to perceive the living Word of God in the visit of the Angel. The same thing happens today with God’s visits in our life. The visits of God are frequent. But because of lack of assimilation and meditation of the written Word of God in the Bible, we are not aware of God’s visit in our life. The visit of God is so present and so continuous that, many times, we do not perceive it and, because of this, we lose a great occasion to live in peace and with joy.
• Luke 1, 26-27: The word enters into our life. Luke presents the persons and the places: a Virgin called Mary, betrothed to a man called Joseph, of the House of David.
Nazareth was a small city in Galilee. Galilee was in the periphery. The centre was Judah and Jerusalem. The Angel Gabriel was sent by God to this young virgin who lived in the periphery. The name Gabriel means God is strong. The name Mary means loved by Yahweh or Yahweh is my Lord.
The story of the visit of God to Mary begins with the expression: “In the sixth month”. It refers to the “sixth month” of pregnancy of Elizabeth, relative of Mary, a woman of a certain age, who needs help. The concrete need of Elizabeth serves as a background to the whole episode. It is found at the beginning (Lk 1, 26) and at the end (Lk 1, 36.39).
• Luke 1, 28-29: Mary’s reaction. The angel had appeared to Zechariah in the Temple. The Angel appears to Mary in her house. The Word of God reaches Mary in the environment of her daily life. The Angel says: “Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favour! The Lord is with you!” These are words similar to those which were said to Moses (Ex 3, 12), to Jeremiah (Jr 1, 8), to Jedeon (Jz 6, 12), to Ruth (Rt 2, 4) and to many others. These words open the horizon for the mission which these persons of the Old Testament have to carry out in the service of the People of God. Deeply disturbed by this greeting, Mary tries to understand what it means. She is realistic, she uses her head. She wants to understand. She does not simply accept any apparition or inspiration.
• Luke 1, 30-33: The explanation of the angel. “Do not be afraid, Mary!” This is always the first greeting of God to human beings: do not be afraid! Immediately after that, the angel recalls the great promises of the past which will be realized through the son who will be born from Mary. This son must receive the name of Jesus. He will be called the son of the Most High and in him finally, will be realized the Kingdom of God promised to David, which all were anxiously waiting for. This is the explanation which the Angel gave to Mary so that she would not be afraid.
• Luke 1, 34: New question asked by Mary. Mary becomes aware of the important mission which she is about to receive, but she continues to be realistic. She does not allow herself to be transported by the greatness of the offer and looks at her condition.” But how can this come about? I have no knowledge of man”. She analyses the offer according to criteria that we, human beings, have available. Because, humanly speaking, this was not possible that this offer of the Word of God would be realized at that moment.
• Luke 1, 35-37: New explanation by the angel. "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God”. The Holy Spirit, present in God’s Word since Creation (Gn 1, 2), can realize things which seem impossible. This is why, the holy One who will be born from Mary will be called Son of God. When today God’s Word is received, accepted by the poor who have no studies, something new takes place thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit! Something new and surprising like the son who is born to a virgin or like the son born from Elizabeth, a woman who was already old, of whom everybody said that she could have no children! The angel adds: “And I tell you this too, your cousin Elizabeth is now in her sixth month!”
• Luke 1, 38: Mary gives herself. The response of the angel clarifies everything for Mary. She gives herself to what the angel was asking for: “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord! May it be done to me according to your word”. Mary calls herself Servant, handmaid of the Lord. This title comes from Isaiah, who presents the mission of the people not as a privilege, but rather like a service to others (Is 42, 1-9; 49, 3-6). Later, the son who was about to be generated at that moment, will define his mission saying: “I have not come to be served but to serve!” (Mt 20, 28). He learns from his Mother!
• Luke 1, 39: The way that Mary finds to render service. The Word of God reaches Mary and makes her get out of self in order to serve others. She leaves the place where she was and goes toward Judah, at a distance of more than four days journey, in order to help her cousin Elizabeth. Mary begins serving and fulfils her mission in behalf of the People of God.
4) Personal questions
• How do you perceive God’s visit in your life? Have you been visited already? Have you been a visit from God in the life of others especially for the poor? How does this text help us to discover the visits of God in our life?
• The word of God became incarnate in Mary. How is the Word of God taking flesh in my personal life and in the life of the community?
5) Concluding Prayer
Let them thank Yahweh for his faithful love,
for his wonders for the children of Adam!
He has fed the hungry to their hearts' content,
filled the starving with good things. (Ps 107,8-9)



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