Today's Password - 15 May 2017, Monday

Cacciare dai nostri pensieri ogni giudizio sul prossimo Cast every negative judgment of our neighbor from our minds (Take away from our thoughts every judgment on our neighbor) "Jesus affirms: 'How can you say to your brother - Let me take that speck out of your eye, while all the time the plank remains in your own? (Mt 7:4).' Jesus knows us sinners better than we can possibly think and He sees clearly that we tend always to make excuses for ourselves and to condemn others. If He grants us just a little understanding of 'who we are' we see that His words reflect our own situation. He warns us to start by removing the plank from our own eye, so that we will be able to lift the speck out of our neighbor’s." Chiara Lubich Diary 1964/65 p160

Word of Life - March 2017

March 2017 Word of Life

We can live like the first Christians and witness in our lives to God’s overwhelming love. If we, his followers, are truly reconciled among ourselves, we can speak convincingly of God’s reconciling love for the world.

“Be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20).

All over the world, there are blood-soaked wars. They seem endless, and they embroil families, tribes and peoples. Twenty-year-old Gloria told this story: “We got news of a village that’d been burnt down. Lots of people lost everything. With my friends I collected some useful things: mattresses, clothes, food. We set out and after an eight hour journey we met all those people in such terrible need. We listened to them, dried their tears, hugged them and tried to comfort them. One family told us, ‘Our little girl was in the house they burnt down. It felt like we were dying with her. Now, through your love, we have the strength to forgive the men who did this!’”

The Apostle Paul also experienced this kind of forgiveness, and it completely changed his life. He, the very one who was persecuting Christians,1 met God’s free-given love. It came in a completely unexpectedly way as he was travelling. God then sent him out in his name 2 as an ambassador of reconciliation.
This is how Paul became a passionate and credible witness to the mystery of Jesus who died and rose again. He spoke of Jesus who had reconciled the world to himself so that everyone could know and experience a life of communion with him and one another.3 Through Paul the Gospel message reached and fascinated even pagans, those thought to be furthest from salvation: “Be reconciled to God!” he said.

Despite our failings that discourage us or the false certainties that fool us into thinking we have no need, we too can meet God’s mercy. His love is so excessive! We can let it heal our hearts and in the end set us free to share this treasure with others. Like this we will give our contribution to God’s plan of peace for all humanity and the whole of creation. This plan overcomes the contradictions of history, as Chiara Lubich suggests in this passage:

“On the cross, in the death of his Son, God gave us the highest proof of his love. Through Christ’s cross, he reconciled us to himself. This fundamental truth of our faith is fully relevant today.

“It is the revelation all humankind awaits. Yes, God is close to all people with his love and he loves each person passionately. Our world needs to hear this proclamation, but we can proclaim God’s love if first we proclaim it, again and again, to ourselves — until we feel surrounded by this love, even when everything would make us think the opposite.… All our behaviour should make this truth credible.

“Jesus said clearly that before bringing our offering to the altar we should be reconciled with a brother or sister if they have anything against us (see Mt 5:23-24) … So let’s love one another as he loved us, without being closed or prejudiced, but being open to welcome and appreciate the positive in our neighbour, ready to give our lives for one another. This is Jesus’ main command, the mark of Christians, valid today just as it was at the time of Christ’s first followers. Living this word means becoming reconcilers.”

Living like this we will enrich our days with acts of friendship and reconciliation: in our own family and among families, in our own Church and among Churches, in every civil and religious community to which we belong.

Letizia Magri

1. See Acts 22:4 ff.
2. See 2 Cor 5:
3. See Eph 2:13 f

Gospel for June 11, 2015 (Thursday)

Mt 5:20-26

Jesus said to His disciples, "As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 'Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.  Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.  Do not take gold or silver or copper for your bells; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick.  The laborer deserves his keep.  Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it and stay there until you leave.  As you enter a house, wish it peace.  If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let you peace return to you".

The WORD in other words

More than a hundred years ago in a Japanese village an earthquake struck.  The Japanese along the seashore thought nothing of it.  But an old rich farmer on a high plain happened to be looking at the sea and saw that a tsunami was fast rushing to the seashore village.  His thought was to rescue the people but what to do?  In his large bodega lay his crop of rice.  Piled in stacks ready for the market, it was worth a fortune.  With haste he set his bodega on fire.  When the villagers saw the big fire, they rushed and ran up to the higher plain to help put out the fire.  As they reached the plain the tsunami struck.  Four hundred lives where saved. (L. Hearn)

This is a classic example of a sacrifice: a farmer sacrificed his fortune to save lives.  The Gospel speaks of an empty sacrifice, one that is devoid of love.  If we heed St. Agustine's definition of sacrifice, then we would offer to God only what signifies our inner adherence to His will, and so our offering would be acceptable.  God's will is for us to live in harmony with others, which is worth more than a huge but empty sacrifice.

When we come to Mass, therefore, let's not come empty-handed.  Let's bring along the good life that we live.

St. Barnabas, pray for us.

                                                -Fr. Atilano Corcuera, SVD (DWST, Tagaytay City)