Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Lectionary: 170
Lectionary: 170
Moses said to the people:
"You are a people sacred to the LORD, your God;
he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth
to be a people peculiarly his own.
It was not because you are the largest of all nations
that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you,
for you are really the smallest of all nations.
It was because the LORD loved you
and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn your fathers,
that he brought you out with his strong hand
from the place of slavery,
and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
Understand, then, that the LORD, your God, is God indeed,
the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant
down to the thousandth generation
toward those who love him and keep his commandments,
but who repays with destruction a person who hates him;
he does not dally with such a one,
but makes them personally pay for it.
You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments,
the statutes and the decrees that I enjoin on you today."
"You are a people sacred to the LORD, your God;
he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth
to be a people peculiarly his own.
It was not because you are the largest of all nations
that the LORD set his heart on you and chose you,
for you are really the smallest of all nations.
It was because the LORD loved you
and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn your fathers,
that he brought you out with his strong hand
from the place of slavery,
and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
Understand, then, that the LORD, your God, is God indeed,
the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant
down to the thousandth generation
toward those who love him and keep his commandments,
but who repays with destruction a person who hates him;
he does not dally with such a one,
but makes them personally pay for it.
You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments,
the statutes and the decrees that I enjoin on you today."
Responsorial
PsalmPS 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 10.
R. (cf. 17) The Lord's kindness is
everlasting to those who fear him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
He pardons all your iniquities,
heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.
Reading 2 1 JN 4:7-16
Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
This is how we know that we remain
in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
God is love, and whoever remains
in love
remains in God and God in him.
remains in God and God in him.
AlleluiaMT 11:29AB
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord;
and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord;
and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 11:25-30
At that time Jesus exclaimed:
"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
"Come to me, all you who
labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
Meditation: "Heavenly
things revealed to infants
: Do you want to know the
mind and heart of God? Jesus thanks the Father in heaven for revealing to his
disciples the wisdom and knowledge of God. What does Jesus' prayer tell us
about God and about ourselves? First, it tells us that God is both Father and
Lord of earth as well as heaven. He is both Creator and Author of all that he
has made, the first origin of everything and transcendent authority, and at the
same time, goodness and loving care for all his children. All fatherhood and
motherhood is derived from him (Ephesians 3:14-15).
Pride
- the root of sin
Jesus' prayer also contains a warning that pride can keep us from the love and knowledge of God. What makes us ignorant and blind to the things of God? Certainly intellectual pride, coldness of heart, and stubbornness of will shut out God and his kingdom. Pride is the root of all vice and the strongest influence propelling us to sin. It first vanquishes the heart, making it cold and indifferent towards God. It also closes the mind to God's truth and wisdom for our lives. What is pride? It is the inordinate love of oneself at the expense of others and the exaggerated estimation of one's own knowledge and importance.
Jesus' prayer also contains a warning that pride can keep us from the love and knowledge of God. What makes us ignorant and blind to the things of God? Certainly intellectual pride, coldness of heart, and stubbornness of will shut out God and his kingdom. Pride is the root of all vice and the strongest influence propelling us to sin. It first vanquishes the heart, making it cold and indifferent towards God. It also closes the mind to God's truth and wisdom for our lives. What is pride? It is the inordinate love of oneself at the expense of others and the exaggerated estimation of one's own knowledge and importance.
Simplicity
of heart
Jesus contrasts intellectual pride with child-like simplicity and humility. The simple of heart are like "infants" in the sense that they see purely and simply without any pretense or falsehood. They instinctively recognize their utter dependence and reliance on those who are stronger, wiser, and more capable of giving them what they need to live and grow. Those who are truly simple of heart seek the one thing alone that can sustain us in good times and hard times and in every circumstance of life - the "summum bonum" or "greatest good" who is God himself.
Jesus contrasts intellectual pride with child-like simplicity and humility. The simple of heart are like "infants" in the sense that they see purely and simply without any pretense or falsehood. They instinctively recognize their utter dependence and reliance on those who are stronger, wiser, and more capable of giving them what they need to live and grow. Those who are truly simple of heart seek the one thing alone that can sustain us in good times and hard times and in every circumstance of life - the "summum bonum" or "greatest good" who is God himself.
Simplicity
of heart is wedded with humility, the queen of virtues, because humility
inclines the heart towards truth and grace - the favor and help freely given by
one who is all-giving, gracious, and kind towards us. Just as pride is the root
or every sin and evil, so humility is the only soil in which the grace and
favor of God can take root. It alone takes the right attitude before God and
allows him as God to do all - all the good that he wishes to do for us for our
own benefit and welfare. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the
humble (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6). Only the humble in heart can
receive the wisdom which comes from God and and the understanding of God's
perfect goodness and plan for our lives. Do you trust in God with your whole
heart and submit to his wisdom and plan for your life?
The
heart of Jesus reveals God's perfect love for us
Jesus makes a claim which no one would have dared to make - he is the perfect revelation of God because he has been with the Father before all creation and time existed. He and the Father are united in an inseparable bond of love and unity. That is why Jesus alone can truly reveal the fullness of God's mind and heart and purpose for our lives. One of the greatest truths of God's revelation and our Christian faith is that we can know the one true and living God. Our knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing some things about God and his nature, but we can know God personally because God desires to be closely united with each one of us in a bond of love through his Son, Jesus Christ..
Jesus makes a claim which no one would have dared to make - he is the perfect revelation of God because he has been with the Father before all creation and time existed. He and the Father are united in an inseparable bond of love and unity. That is why Jesus alone can truly reveal the fullness of God's mind and heart and purpose for our lives. One of the greatest truths of God's revelation and our Christian faith is that we can know the one true and living God. Our knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing some things about God and his nature, but we can know God personally because God desires to be closely united with each one of us in a bond of love through his Son, Jesus Christ..
The
essence of Christianity, and what makes it distinct from Judaism and all other
religions, is the personal knowledge of God as our Father - the
one, true and eternal Father who knew us before we were knitted in our mother's
womb. Jesus makes it possible for each one of us to have a personal direct
relationship and experiential knowledge of God as our loving and gracious
Father.
To
see Jesus is to see what God is like. In Jesus we see the perfect love of God -
a God who cares intensely and who yearns over men and women, loving them to the
point of sacrificing his only begotten Son who freely gave up his life for our
sake on the cross. Paul the Apostle tells us that Jesus is the image of God
(Colossians 1:15). He is the perfect revelation of God - a God who loves us
totally, unconditionally, and without reservation. What can separate us from
the love of God? Only our own stubborn pride, willfulness, and rebellious
attitude towards God and his will for our lives.
Jesus
makes an incredible promise to those who acknowledge him as their Lord and
Savior. If we pray in his name - the name Jesus means God
saves - then the Father in heaven will hear us as if his only begotten
Son was speaking to him directly. That is the unity, blessing, and promise he
wishes for each one of us. And that is why we have the confidence and boldness
to pray as Jesus taught his disciples, Our Father who art in heaven...
give us this day our daily bread, and deliver us from temptation. Do
you pray to your Father in heaven with joy and confidence in his perfect love
and care for you?
The
sweet yoke of Jesus
What does the yoke of Jesus refer to in the Gospel (Matthew 11:29)? The Jews used the image of a yoke to express submission to God. They spoke of the yoke of the law, the yoke of the commandments, the yoke of the kingdom, the yoke of God. Jesus says his yoke is "easy". The Greek word for "easy" can also mean "well-fitting". Yokes were tailor-made to fit the oxen well. We are commanded to put on the "sweet yoke of Jesus" and to live the "heavenly way of life and happiness".
What does the yoke of Jesus refer to in the Gospel (Matthew 11:29)? The Jews used the image of a yoke to express submission to God. They spoke of the yoke of the law, the yoke of the commandments, the yoke of the kingdom, the yoke of God. Jesus says his yoke is "easy". The Greek word for "easy" can also mean "well-fitting". Yokes were tailor-made to fit the oxen well. We are commanded to put on the "sweet yoke of Jesus" and to live the "heavenly way of life and happiness".
Jesus
also says his "burden is light". There's a story of a man who once
met a boy carrying a smaller crippled lad on his back. "That's a heavy
load you are carrying there," exclaimed the man. "He ain't heavy;
he's my brother!" responded the boy. No burden is too heavy when it's given
in love and carried in love. Jesus offers us a new kingdom of righteousness,
peace, and joy. In his kingdom sins are not only forgiven but removed, and
eternal life is poured out for all its citizens. This is not a political
kingdom, but a spiritual one.
The
weight of glory and yoke of freedom
The yoke of Christ's kingdom, his kingly rule and way of life, liberates us from the burden of guilt and from the oppression of sin and hurtful desires. Only Jesus can lift the burden of sin and the weight of hopelessness from us - and give us a weight of love and glory in exchange. Jesus used the analogy of a yoke to explain how we can exchange the burden of sin and despair for a burden of glory and yoke of freedom from sin. The yoke which Jesus invites us to embrace is his way of grace and freedom from the power of sin. Do you trust in God's love and submit to his will and plan for your life?
The yoke of Christ's kingdom, his kingly rule and way of life, liberates us from the burden of guilt and from the oppression of sin and hurtful desires. Only Jesus can lift the burden of sin and the weight of hopelessness from us - and give us a weight of love and glory in exchange. Jesus used the analogy of a yoke to explain how we can exchange the burden of sin and despair for a burden of glory and yoke of freedom from sin. The yoke which Jesus invites us to embrace is his way of grace and freedom from the power of sin. Do you trust in God's love and submit to his will and plan for your life?
"Lord
Jesus, give me the child-like simplicity and purity of faith to gaze upon your
face with joy and confidence in your all-merciful love. Remove every doubt,
fear, and proud thought which would hinder me from receiving your word with
trust and humble submission."
Daily
Quote from the early church fathers: The grace of Christ bears us up,
from an anonymous early Christian teacher
"'My
yoke is easy and my burden light'... The prophet says this about the burden of
sinners: 'Because my iniquities lie on top of my head, so they have also placed
a heavy burden on me' (Psalm 38:4)... 'Place my yoke upon you, and learn from
me that I am gentle and humble of heart.' Oh, what a very pleasing weight that
strengthens even more those who carry it! For the weight of earthly masters
gradually destroys the strength of their servants, but the weight of Christ
rather helps the one who bears it, because we do not bear grace; grace bears
us. It is not for us to help grace, but rather grace has been given to aid
us." (excerpt from the INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 29:
PG 56:780)
SOLEMNITY
OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS
FRIDAY, JUNE 19, MATTHEW 11:25-30
(Deuteronomy 7:6-11; Psalm 103; 1 John 4:7-16)
FRIDAY, JUNE 19, MATTHEW 11:25-30
(Deuteronomy 7:6-11; Psalm 103; 1 John 4:7-16)
KEY VERSE: "No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him" (v. 27).
TO KNOW: Jesus grieved over the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. Although they were "the wise and the learned" (v. 25), they persisted in their unbelief and were indifferent to the miracles he wrought. With gratitude that came from the depths of his heart, Jesus praised God for having revealed the mysteries of the kingdom to simple people who accepted his teaching with childlike faith. Their attitude of receptivity and obedience to God's will was the key to entering God's reign (Mt 18:3). Jesus demonstrated this in his own relationship with his Father. The Father handed over everything to the Son who received it with a grateful, humble heart. In turn, the Son shared his knowledge of God with those whose hearts were open and prepared to receive it.
TO LOVE: Is my heart open to God's offer of love?
TO SERVE: Sacred heart of Jesus, make my heart like unto yours.
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS
Visions of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Visions of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a French nun, claimed to have received visions of Jesus Christ during the octave of Corpus Christi, 1675. Jesus told her, “Behold this heart that has loved men so much, and has been loved so little in return,” and asked Margaret Mary for a feast of reparation on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi. Margaret Mary reported everything she saw to Fr. de la Colombière, superior of the small Jesuit house at Paray. He acknowledged the vision as an action of the Spirit of God, and directed her to write an account of the apparition. He also made use of every available opportunity to circulate this account through France and England. Worship of the Sacred Heart consists of several hymns, the Salutation of the Sacred Heart, and the Litany of the Sacred Heart.
A Solemn Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.
Friday 19 June 2020
Sacred Heart of Jesus
Deuteronomy 7:6-11. The Lord’s kindness is everlasting to those
who fear him – Psalm 102(103):1-4, 6-8, 10. 1 John 4:7-16. Matthew 11:25-30.
Israel, the chosen people
The readings today touch the core of our own hearts. God’s heart
is ‘gentle and humble,’ and there we will find rest for our souls. St Augustine
said his heart was restless until it rested in God. Our hearts find rest in
love. John’s letter tells us ‘Everyone who loves has been born of God and
knows God.’ Today’s feast celebrates God’s love in us which challenges us to
love in return. God chose tiny Israel as his people. So, a need to love in
return seeped into the hearts of that people. Moses urged his people to ‘take
care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.’ John’s letter
has the same message: ‘Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to
love one another.’ Indeed, may our hearts find deep rest through love, in God.
Saint Romuald
Saint of the Day for June 19
(c. 950 – June 19, 1027)
 |
| Fresco of Saint Romuald | In the Dominican Cloister of Saint Mark, Florence, Italy | Fra Angelico |
Saint Romuald’s Story
In the midst of a wasted youth, Romuald watched his father kill
a relative in a duel over property. In horror he fled to a monastery near
Ravenna. After three years, some of the monks found him to be uncomfortably
holy and eased him out.
Romuald spent the next 30 years going about Italy, founding
monasteries and hermitages. He longed to give his life to Christ in martyrdom,
and got the pope’s permission to preach the gospel in Hungary. But he was
struck with illness as soon as he arrived, and the illness recurred as often as
he tried to proceed.
During another period of his life, Romuald suffered great
spiritual dryness. One day as he was praying Psalm 31 (“I will give you
understanding and I will instruct you”), he was given an extraordinary light
and spirit which never left him.
At the next monastery where he stayed, Romuald was accused of a
scandalous crime by a young nobleman he had rebuked for a dissolute life.
Amazingly, his fellow monks believed the accusation. He was given a severe
penance, forbidden from offering Mass, and excommunicated—an unjust sentence
that he endured in silence for six months.
The most famous of the monasteries Romuald founded was that of
the Camaldoli in Tuscany. Here began the Order of the Camaldolese Benedictines,
uniting the monastic and eremetical lives. In later life Romuald’s own father
became a monk, wavered, and was kept faithful by the encouragement of his son.
Reflection
Christ is a gentle leader, but he calls us to total holiness.
Now and then, men and women are raised up to challenge us by the absoluteness
of their dedication, the vigor of their spirit, the depth of their conversion.
The fact that we cannot duplicate their lives does not change the call to us to
be totally open to God in our own particular circumstances.
Lectio Divina:
The Sacred Heart of Jesus (A)
Lectio Divina
Friday, June 19, 2020
1) Opening prayer
Holy God,
we often turn our hearts
into houses of pride and greed
rather than into homes of love and goodness
where You can feel at home.
Destroythe temple ofsin in us,
drive out all evil from our hearts
and make us living stones of a community
in which can live and reign
Your Son Jesus Christ,
our living Lord for ever and ever.
we often turn our hearts
into houses of pride and greed
rather than into homes of love and goodness
where You can feel at home.
Destroythe temple ofsin in us,
drive out all evil from our hearts
and make us living stones of a community
in which can live and reign
Your Son Jesus Christ,
our living Lord for ever and ever.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus exclaimed, 'I bless You, Father, Lord of
heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever
and revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased
You to do.
Everything has been entrusted to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
'Come to Me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder My yoke and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, My yoke is easy and My burden light.'
Everything has been entrusted to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
'Come to Me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder My yoke and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, My yoke is easy and My burden light.'
3) Reflection
• Today we celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In
the Gospel we will listen to the invitation of Jesus: “Learn from me for I am
meek and humble of heart”. The Gospel shows the tenderness with which
Jesus welcomes, accepts the little ones. He wanted the poor to find rest and
peace in Him.
• The context of chapters 11 and 12 of Matthew. In
this context is stressed and made evident the fact that the poor are the only
ones to understand and to accept the wisdom of the Kingdom. Many people did not
understand Jesus’ preference for the poor and the excluded.
a) John the Baptist, who looked at Jesus with the eyes of the past, had doubts (Mt 11: 1-15)
b) The people, who looked at Jesus with a purpose of their own interests, were not able to understand him (Mt 11:16-19).
c) The great cities around the lake, which listened to Jesus’ preaching and saw the miracles, did not want to open themselves to His message (Mt 11: 20-24).
d) The wise and the Doctors, who judged everything according to their own science, were not able to understand Jesus’ preaching (Mt 11: 25).
e) Not even his relatives understood Him (Mt 12: 46-50).
f) Only the little ones understood Him and accepted the Good News of the Kingdom (Mt 11:25-30).
g) The others want sacrifice, but Jesus wants mercy (Mt 12:1-8).
h) The reaction against Jesus impels the Pharisees to want to kill Him (Mt 12: 9-14).
i) They said that Jesus was Beelzebul (Mt 12:22-32).
j) But Jesus did not draw back. He continues to assume the mission of Servant, as described in the prophecies (Mt 12:15-21). This is why He was persecuted and condemned to death.
a) John the Baptist, who looked at Jesus with the eyes of the past, had doubts (Mt 11: 1-15)
b) The people, who looked at Jesus with a purpose of their own interests, were not able to understand him (Mt 11:16-19).
c) The great cities around the lake, which listened to Jesus’ preaching and saw the miracles, did not want to open themselves to His message (Mt 11: 20-24).
d) The wise and the Doctors, who judged everything according to their own science, were not able to understand Jesus’ preaching (Mt 11: 25).
e) Not even his relatives understood Him (Mt 12: 46-50).
f) Only the little ones understood Him and accepted the Good News of the Kingdom (Mt 11:25-30).
g) The others want sacrifice, but Jesus wants mercy (Mt 12:1-8).
h) The reaction against Jesus impels the Pharisees to want to kill Him (Mt 12: 9-14).
i) They said that Jesus was Beelzebul (Mt 12:22-32).
j) But Jesus did not draw back. He continues to assume the mission of Servant, as described in the prophecies (Mt 12:15-21). This is why He was persecuted and condemned to death.
• Matthew 11: 25-26: Only the little ones understand and
accept the Good News of the Kingdom. Jesus addresses a prayer to the
Father: “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things
from the learned and the clever and revealing them to little children. Yes,
Father, for that is what it pleased You to do!” The wise, the doctors of
that time, had created a series of laws which they imposed upon the people in
the name of God. They thought that God demanded this observance from the
people. But the Law of love, brought by Jesus, said the contrary. What is
important is not what we do for God, but rather what God, in His great love,
does for us! People understood Jesus’ words and were filled with joy. The wise
thought that Jesus was not right. They could not understand this teaching which
modified the relationship of the people of God.
• Matthew 11: 27: The origin of the New Law: The Son knows
the Father. Jesus, the Son, knows the Father. He knows what the Father
wanted when, centuries before, He gave the Law to Moses. What the Father wants
to tell us He handed to Jesus, and Jesus revealed it to the little ones,
because they opened themselves to His message. Today, also, Jesus continues to
teach many things to the poor and to the little ones. The wise and the intelligent
do well if they become pupils of the little ones!
• Matthew 11: 28-30: “Come to me all you who labor and are
overburdened, and I will give you rest”. Jesus invites all those who are tired
to find rest in Him. These are the people who are tired under the weight of the
impositions and the observances which the law of purity demanded. And He says,
“Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart”. Many times this sentence
has been manipulated to ask people to submit themselves, to be passive. What Jesus
wants to say is the contrary. He asks people to leave aside the professors of
religion of that time, to rest and to begin to learn from Him, from Jesus, who
is “gentle and humble of heart”. Jesus does not do like the Scribes take pride
in their own science, but He is like the people who live humiliated and
exploited. Jesus, the new teacher, knows from experience what happens in the
heart of the people and how much the people suffer.
• The invitation of divine wisdom to all those who seek it. Jesus invites all those who are oppressed under the weight of the observance of the law to find rest in Him, because He is gentle and humble of heart, capable of relieving and consoling the people who suffer, who feel tired and depressed (Mt 11:25-30). In this invitation resound the beautiful words of Isaiah who consoled the people who lived in exile (Isa 55:1-3). This invitation is bound to divine wisdom, which invites people to the encounter with her (Wis 24: 19), saying, “her ways are filled with delight; her paths all lead to contentment” (Prov 3:17). And He adds: “Wisdom brings up her own children and cares for those who seek her. Whoever loves her, loves life, those who seek her early will be filled with joy” (Sir 4:11-12). This invitation reveals a very important characteristic of the feminine face of God: tenderness and acceptance which consoles, which gives life to persons and leads them to feel well. Jesus is defense, the protection and the maternal womb which the Father offers to people who are tired (cfr. Isa 66:10-13).
• The invitation of divine wisdom to all those who seek it. Jesus invites all those who are oppressed under the weight of the observance of the law to find rest in Him, because He is gentle and humble of heart, capable of relieving and consoling the people who suffer, who feel tired and depressed (Mt 11:25-30). In this invitation resound the beautiful words of Isaiah who consoled the people who lived in exile (Isa 55:1-3). This invitation is bound to divine wisdom, which invites people to the encounter with her (Wis 24: 19), saying, “her ways are filled with delight; her paths all lead to contentment” (Prov 3:17). And He adds: “Wisdom brings up her own children and cares for those who seek her. Whoever loves her, loves life, those who seek her early will be filled with joy” (Sir 4:11-12). This invitation reveals a very important characteristic of the feminine face of God: tenderness and acceptance which consoles, which gives life to persons and leads them to feel well. Jesus is defense, the protection and the maternal womb which the Father offers to people who are tired (cfr. Isa 66:10-13).
4) Personal questions
• What produces tension in you and what gives you peace? For
you, to live in community, is it a source of tension or of peace?
• How can Jesus’ words help our community to be a place of rest for our life?
• How can Jesus’ words help our community to be a place of rest for our life?
5) Concluding Prayer
Yahweh is tenderness and pity,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love;
His indignation does not last for ever,
nor His resentment remain for all time. (Ps 103:8-9)
slow to anger and rich in faithful love;
His indignation does not last for ever,
nor His resentment remain for all time. (Ps 103:8-9)
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