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

Today's Password : 22.January.2017, Sunday

Essere misericordiosi

Be merciful

“God shows us, in a new and higher manner, that there is something worth more than suffering: love for others, in the form of mercy. This is the love, which stretches our hearts and arms to embrace the wretched, the poor, repentant sinners, and those whom life has ravaged. Mercy is the final expression of charity; it is what completes it. And charity goes beyond suffering, for suffering belongs to this life alone, whereas love continues into the next. God prefers mercy to sacrifice.”

Chiara Lubich

* Today is also Chiara's birthday. We thank her for saying her YES to God.

Gospel for September 21, 2015 (Monday) Feast of St. Matthew

Mt 9:9-13

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.  He said to him, "Follow me."  And he got up and followed him.  While he was at the table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.  The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.  Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'  I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."

The Word in other words

A few years ago there was a strong movement in Europe and North America where Christians, young and old from all denominations, could live together. Rules to live by were reduced to the minimum.  The number in each group was somehow limited but workable.  In one group of 10 was a girl Linda who was working as secretary in an office.  After being a regular member for a year, she simply disappeared and no one knew where she went; everyone was a bit disturbed.  One evening the group huddled together to share about the problem.  No one really knew why she left.  After agreeing that they found Linda to be a good member of the community, they decided to do two things: 1)that they would all pray for her; and 2) if ever she would come back, no one should inquire about her disappearance.  Instead they would greet her and tell her that they missed her.  After two weeks Linda came back to the community ready to meet inquiring eyes and words of reprimand, but nothing of the sort happened.  So, taken by surprise and stuck by kindness of the community.  In the meeting she broke down, told everything.  When she came back, she said she was surprised that no one was angry at her.  She was doubting if they were concerned about her disappearance and why no one asked questions when she came back.  She felt their kindness and concern for her.  The feeling of being welcomed back revealed how good it was to be in a community like hers.

In the gospel today. we heard the Pharisees complaining about Jesus who was eating and drinking with tax collectors.  The newly converted Matthew must have felt uneasy with the remark which was actually an insult to his chief guest, Jesus.  When Jesus answered the accusation saying, "I want mercy, not sacrifice," Matthew must have been relieved.  It is always the case that when we hear the words of Jesus, we feel delivered from evil.  Like St. Matthew, let us follow where Jesus leads us and find our home in him.

- Fr. Carlos Lariosa, SVD (Radio Veritas Asia, QC)

Gospel for July 17, 2015 (Friday)

Mt 12:1-8

At that time Jesus was going through a field of grain on the Sabbath.  His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.  When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the Sabbath."  He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests serving i the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?  I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.  If you knew what this meant, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned these innocent men.  For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

The Word in other words

In many and various ways, Matthew wanted to show that Jesus was the New Moses.  Moses as we know was the one to whom God gave the law in Sinai.  Matthew shows, in his gospel, that Jesus came to fulfill the Law God gave to Moses, by teaching a new principle of interpretation.  The prevailing principle then was "be pure" because of God is pure.  For Jesus, however, the principle "be merciful" as God is merciful.  By quoting the Prophet Hosea: "I desire mercy not sacrifice"(6:6), he indicates by what principle to judge the following or observance of the law.  The end and purpose of every law is to help so that the true image of God may emerge from within every human being.  This is what Jesus tried to do and in so doing he revealed who he really was--- the fulfillment of the law.

                    - Fr. Magdaleno Fabiosa, SVD (VCR, CKMS, QC)