domingo
22 de junio^nd

Corpus Christi domingo

Paulinus of Nola

John Fisher and Thomas More

1^st Reading: Gen 14:18-20:
Entonces Melquisedec, rey de Salem, trajo pan y vino; era un sacerdote del Dios Altísimo, y bendijo a Abram diciendo: “¡Bendito sea Abram por el Dios Altísimo, creador del cielo y de la tierra! ¡Y bendito sea el Dios Altísimo que ha entregado a tus enemigos en tus manos! ”Y Abram le dio una décima parte de todo.

2^nd Reading: 1 Cor 11:23-26:
This is the tradition of the Lord that I received, and, that, in my turn, I have handed on to you; the Lord Jesus, on the night that he was delivered up, took bread and, after giving thanks, broke it, saying, “This is my body which is broken for you; do this in memory of me.”

In the same manner, taking the cup after the supper, he said, “This cup is the new Covenant, in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do it in memory of me.” So, then, whenever you eat of this bread and drink from this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he comes.

Evangelio: Lucas 9: 11b-17:
So he welcomed them, and began speaking about the kingdom of God, curing those who needed healing. The day was drawing to a close, and the Twelve drew near to tell him, “Send the crowd away, and let them go into the villages and farms around, to find lodging and food, for we are here in a lonely place.”

But Jesus replied, “You, yourselves, give them something to eat.”

They answered, “We have only five loaves and two fish. Do you want us to go and buy food for all this crowd?” for there were about five thousand men.

Entonces Jesús dijo a sus discípulos: “Haz que se sienten en grupos de cincuenta”. Así que hicieron que todos se sentaran. Luego Jesús tomó los cinco panes y los dos peces, y, levantando sus ojos al cielo, pronunció una bendición sobre ellos; los rompió y se los dio a los discípulos para que los distribuyeran entre la multitud. Comieron y todos tuvieron suficiente; y cuando recogieron lo que quedaba, doce canastas se llenaron de pedazos rotos.

Reflexión:
Today’s solemnity can be related to two fundamental and complementary aspects of the Eucharist: Christ as food, and Christ as presence. The first aspect is heavily and deservedly highlighted in all today’s liturgical texts. For example, in today’s gospel reading about the miraculous feeding of the crowds according to Luke’s version, the action of Jesus (he took the bread… blessed… broke… gave) are strictly parallel to his actions at the Last Supper (Lk 9: 16-22, 19), reminding us that the Eucharist is essentially a feeding of Christian crowds, a meal. Well and good. But there is a second aspect, much more modest and secondary, to the Eucharist. And it is that of presence.

Between Masses, the Eucharist is preserved in our tabernacles throughout the world. The liturgical purists try to underplay this by relegating the Eucharist to a side altar or a less prominent place in the sanctuary. But the people of God does not care too much about the theological and historical niceties involved in these matters. They just come and visit the Blessed Sacrament and there find solace, strength, comfort. The Blessed Sacrament or the Real Presence of Christ in our midst is the Church’s greatest treasure, let us not forget this. The living presence of Christ in our midst is our greatest treasure. Let us thank him for the gift of the Eucharist. Let us receive Holy Communion today with a special fervor and thankfulness for such a gift.

lunes
23 de junio^rd

1^st Reading: Genesis 12:1-9:
The LORD said to Abram: “Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.”

Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife, Sarai, his brother’s son Lot, all the possessions that they had accumulated, and the persons they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan.

When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land as far as the sacred place at Shechem, by the terebinth of Moreh. (The Canaanites were then in the land.) The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.”

So Abram built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel, pitching his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there to the LORD and invoked the LORD by name. Then Abram journeyed on by stages to the Negeb.

Gospel: Mt 7:1-5:
Do not judge; and you will not be judged. In the same way you judge others, you will be judged; and the measure you use for others will be used for you. Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, and not see the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Come, let me take the speck from your eye,’ as long as that plank is in your own? Hypocrite, remove the plank out of your own eye; then, you will see clearly, to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Reflexión:
In today’s gospel reading we hear Jesus warn us, “Do not judge and you shall not be judged.” Judged by whom? By God, the experts tell us because often in the Bible, when the passive voice is used and no actor is mentioned, then we are indirectly referring to God. So this question of judging other people is serious business, since it involves the judgment or condemnation of God.

But here the practical application of the prohibition to judge others raises acute problems. Is it always possible not to judge when we have to hire or fire employees, evaluate performances, assign duties, etc. In fact, is it desirable not to judge when we have to discipline children, rebuke subordinates, correct abuses?

The solution to this problem lies in the distinction between action and person (or the heart in biblical terms). One’s actions are not always an adequate expression of one’s heart: some people perform good actions for the wrong motives (v.g. the Pharisees), and some people perform objectively wrong actions but with the best intentions (the apostle Paul before his conversion). And so, we can judge a person’s actions, but only God can judge a person’s heart because only God can see the depths of the human heart.

martes
24 de Junio^th

Nativity of St. John the Baptist

1^st Reading: Is 49:1-6:
Hear me, O coastlands, listen, O distant peoples. The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory. Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet my reward is with the Lord, my recompense is with my God.

For now the Lord has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; and I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord, and my God is now my strength! It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

2^nd Reading: Acts 13:22-26:
In those days, Paul said: “God raised up David as king; of him God testified, I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish. From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; and as John was completing his course, he would say, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’”

My brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent.”

Evangelio: Lc 1: 57-66, 80:
When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her. When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.”

They said to her, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they made signs to his father for the name he wanted to give him. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John;” and they were very surprised.

Immediately, Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of God. A holy fear came on all in the neighborhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea the people talked about these events. All who heard of it, pondered in their minds, and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.

As the child grew up, he was seen to be strong in the Spirit; and he lived in the desert, until the day when he appeared openly in Israel.

Reflexión:
Today we are celebrating the birth of one of the holiest and greatest men of history. This is a remarkable thing in itself, because we usually celebrate the day on which saints die, not the day they were born. The only births we celebrate in the liturgy are those of Jesus, Mary, and John. And this is entirely fitting, for all three were born without original sin (Lk 1:15).

All this is very interesting, but what about us? We are not great saints—or even small ones for that matter. What does the birth of John the Baptist tell us? The first reading provides an answer to this quite legitimate question.

It says: “Yahweh called me from my mother’s womb; he pronounced my name before I was born… I am important in the sight of Yahweh.” Do we believe that we are, each one of us, important in the sight God? How could we not be important in the sight of God when he sent his Son to live and die for each one of us? Jesus assures us that even all the hairs of our head are counted (Mt 10:30) because each one of us is so terribly important in the eyes of our heavenly Father. Once we believe this truth, we can face life with a quiet heart.

miércoles
25 de junio^th

1^st Reading: Gen 15:1-12, 17-18:
La palabra del Señor vino a Abram en una visión: “¡No temas, Abram! Yo soy tu escudo; Haré que tu recompensa sea muy grande ".

But Abram said, “O Lord God, what good will your gifts be, if I keep on being childless and have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?” Abram continued, “See, you have given me no offspring, and so one of my servants will be my heir.”

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “No, that one shall not be your heir; your own issue shall be your heir.” He took him outside and said: “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.” Abram put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.

He then said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession.”

“O Lord God,” he asked, “how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

He answered him, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

Abram brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up. Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram stayed with them. As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.

Cuando el sol se había puesto y estaba oscuro, apareció una olla humeante y una antorcha encendida, que pasaba entre esas piezas. Fue en esa ocasión que el Señor hizo un pacto con Abram, diciendo: "A tus descendientes les doy esta tierra, desde el Wadi de Egipto hasta el Gran Río del Eufrates".

Evangelio: Mt 7: 15-20:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of false prophets: they come to you in sheep’s clothing; but inside, they are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Do you ever pick grapes from thorn bushes; or figs, from thistles?

“A good tree always produces good fruit. A rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit; and a rotten tree cannot bear good fruit. Any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruit.“

Reflexión:
False prophets are hard to detect. One knows they are false after the fact. A classic example is the struggle between Jeremiah and Hananiah. Both claimed to speak for God. Hananiah was proven wrong and Jeremiah right when Judeah fell into the Babylonians.

Jesus warns his followers to be discerning with regard to listening to a prophet and following him. Jesus describes false prophets as nice to look at, very attractive, very credible when they speak, but they are there to sweet-talk the unsuspecting individuals to buy their rotten products or ideas, to destroy their families, the society, the Church and the environment.

Los falsos profetas se manifiestan hoy al difundir noticias falsas, falsas esperanzas y falsas alarmas a través de sus sitios falsos en las redes sociales. Cada cristiano debe saber que los verdaderos profetas nos llevan a amar más a Cristo, a escuchar las enseñanzas de la Iglesia, a recibir los sacramentos y a ser caritativos y misericordiosos con los demás. Ellos mismos son vistos practicando su fe. Cualquier maestro que enseña y practica lo contrario es un falso profeta. Cristianos, ten cuidado con ellos.

jueves
26 de junio^th

1^st Reading: Gen 16:1-12, 15-16:
Abram’s wife Sarai had borne him no children. She had, however, an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram: “The Lord has kept me from bearing children. Have intercourse, then, with my maid; perhaps I shall have sons through her.”

Abram heeded Sarai’s request. Thus, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, his wife Sarai took her maid, Hagar the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his concubine. He had intercourse with her, and she became pregnant. When she became aware of her pregnancy, she looked on her mistress with disdain. So Sarai said to Abram:

“You are responsible for this outrage against me. I myself gave my maid to your embrace; but ever since she became aware of her pregnancy, she has been looking on me with disdain. May the Lord decide between you and me!”

Abram told Sarai:  “Your maid is in your power. Do to her whatever you please.” Sarai then abused her so much that Hagar ran away from her.

The Lord’s messenger found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the road to Shur, and he asked, “Hagar, maid of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”

She answered, “I am running away from my mistress, Sarai.”

But the Lord’s messenger told her: “Go back to your mistress and submit to her abusive treatment. I will make your descendants so numerous,” added the Lord’s messenger, “that they will be too many to count. Besides,” the Lords messenger said to her:

“You are now pregnant and shall bear a son; you shall name him Ishmael, For the Lord has heard you,
God has answered you. This one shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him; In opposition to all his kin shall he encamp.”

Agar le dio a Abram un hijo, y Abram llamó al hijo a quien Agar le llevó a Ismael. Abram tenía ochenta y seis años cuando Agar le dio a luz a Ismael.

Evangelio: Mt 7: 21-29:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my heavenly Father. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not speak in your name? Did we not cast out devils and perform many miracles in your name?’ (…)

“Therefore, anyone who hears these words of mine, and acts according to them, is like a wise man, who built his house on rock. The rain poured down, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house. But it did not collapse, because it was built on rock.

“But anyone who hears these words of mine, and does not act accordingly, is like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible collapse that was!”

When Jesus had finished this discourse, the crowds were struck by the way he taught, because he taught with authority, unlike their teachers of the law.

Reflexión:
Jesus teaches the importance of listening to the Word of God and doing God’s will. Christians are both listeners and doers. Jesus does not like glib talkers. These people love to talk more than listen. They impose themselves on others. They impress others by their eloquence and skills to entertain. They grandstand during meetings and in ordinary conversations.

Jesus’ disciples should first of all be listeners. They shut their mouths and open wide their ears to allow more inspiration from God to come in to their minds and hearts. They listen to the Word of God preached to them during liturgical celebrations. They attend Bible Studies and sharing. They familiarize themselves with the Bible and the teachings of the Church.

Because they listen carefully, they do exactly what is expected of them in the church or in the community. The will of God becomes clearer to them, so they do it. They apply it without creating chaos. Jesus appreciates what they are doing. Because they listen to God’s word and do it, they become strong in character and in faith. They are not easily carried away by false teachings. They can withstand crises that come along the way.

viernes
27 de junio^th

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Cyril of Alexandria

1^st Reading: Ez 34:11-16:
Thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I will lead them out from among the peoples
and gather them from the foreign lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel in the land’s ravines and all its inhabited places.

In good pastures will I pasture them, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing ground. There they shall lie down on good grazing ground, and in rich pastures shall they be pastured on the mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy, shepherding them rightly.

2^nd Reading: Rom 5:5b-11:
Hermanos y hermanas:
The love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.

But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life.

Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Gospel: Lk 15:3-7:
So Jesus told them this parable: “Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and seek the lost one till he finds it? And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders? Then he will call his friends and neighbors together, and say, ‘Celebrate with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’”

“I tell you, in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner, than over ninety-nine decent people, who do not need to repent.”

Reflexión:
Jesus presents the predicament of God when a person cannot be found in his fold. He seeks him. He cannot afford to lose anyone. Everyone is valuable to him. Sin separates us from God. We are considered lost when we become independent from God, when we live as if he does not exist. When we consider ourselves the center of our lives, not God, we are lost, and we look for happiness in material things and not in him. Seeking guidance from the godless and those who have no spiritual values is a sign of being lost.

Now when one of us sinners is found, there is so much joy. One is found when he or she returns to God. The person repents from sin and lives in God’s fold. We repent when we realize how miserable we have been without God. We repent to gain back what we have lost when we were looking for meaning at wrong places, wrong times, and wrong persons. When we are found, not only God will rejoice, but also heaven, our neighbors, and ourselves. Together we celebrate. We eat and drink and share the joy of being home and complete.

sábado
28 de junio^th

Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Irenaeus of Lyons

Genesis 18:1-15
The LORD appeared to Abraham by the Terebinth of Mamre, as Abraham sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot. Looking up, he saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground, he said: “Sir, if I may ask you this favor, please do not go on past your servant. Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest yourselves under the tree. Now that you have come this close to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way.”

The men replied, “Very well, do as you have said.”

Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah, “Quick, three measures of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls.” He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. Then Abraham got some curds and milk, as well as the steer that had been prepared, and set these before them; and he waited on them under the tree while they ate.They asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?”

He replied, “There in the tent.”

One of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son.” Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years, and Sarah had stopped having her womanly periods. So Sarah laughed to herself and said,”Now that I am so withered and my husband is so old, am I still to have sexual pleasure?”

But the LORD said to Abraham: “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I really bear a child, old as I am?’ Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do? At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you, and Sarah will have a son.”

Because she was afraid, Sarah dissembled, saying, “I didn’t laugh.”

But he replied, “Yes you did.”

Gospel: Mt 8:5-17
When Jesus entered Capernaum, an army captain approached him, to ask his help, “Sir, my servant lies sick at home. He is paralyzed and suffers terribly.”

Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

The captain answered, “I am not worthy to have you under my roof. Just give an order and my boy will be healed. For I myself, a junior officer, give orders to my soldiers. And if I say to one, ‘Go!’ he goes; and if I say to another, ‘Come!’ he comes; and if I say to my servant, ‘Do this!’ he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished; and said to those who were following him, “I tell you, I have not found such faith in Israel. I say to you, many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven; but the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown out into extreme darkness; there, they will wail and grind their teeth.”

Then Jesus said to the captain, “Go home now. As you believed, so let it be.” And at that moment, his servant was healed.

Jesus went to Peter’s house and found Peter’s mother-in-law in bed with fever. He took her by the hand and the fever left her; she got up and began to wait on him. Toward evening, they brought to Jesus many people possessed by evil spirits; and with a word, he drove out the spirits. He also healed all who were sick. In this way, what was said by the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled: He bore our infirmities and took on himself our diseases.

Reflexión:
When we belong to a given group (national, social, artistic, etc.), almost all of us have the tendency to look with suspicion on all the people not belonging to our particular group. Can they not see how excellent our group is? Why do they not join us and become like us?

This tendency is also found among religious groups. For example, since Catholics believe, and rightly so, that the Catholic Church contains the fullness of Divine Revelation and all the means of salvation necessary, as Vatican II teaches us (LG, n.16), some Catholics might wonder why not everybody on earth joins her. Hence the temptation to think that non-Catholics—and especially non-Christians like Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and others—are not as open to God as Christians are, that these pagans have little chance of being saved.

Today’s gospel reading should dispel such unfounded suspicions. There we see a pagan soldier show a trust in Jesus that few Catholics have. And Jesus highly praised him for it, comparing him favorably to the so-called “heirs of the Kingdom” who will end in extreme darkness. God looks at a person’s heart, not at a person’s religious affiliation, which often results from a pure accident of birth. We must be as welcoming as He is.