Martes, Abril 30, 2013

From the Taize Community and the Focolare Movement

26 April 2013

 If the above link does not work please try the ones below:

 http://www.taize.fr/en_article681.html


Bible texts with commentary
These Bible meditations are meant as a way of seeking God in silence and prayer in the midst of our daily life. During the course of a day, take a moment to read the Bible passage with the short commentary and to reflect on the questions which follow. Afterwards, a small group of 3 to 10 people can meet to share what they have discovered and perhaps for a time of prayer.

May 2013

Matthew 11:28-30: A Burden that Lightens our Load
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
In a sense, we are all weary and overburdened. In our depths lies hidden a poverty which, because it frightens us, oppresses us and drags us down. In the words of this passage, Christ welcomes us in our vulnerability and does not seem to be afraid of it. “Come to me,” he says, and later on he will say: “Let the little children come to me, for the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like them” (Matthew 19:14).
Jesus seems to want to teach us to offer this inner poverty to God. It is God alone who can cover it with the right garment. Accepting our inadequacies, Christ takes upon himself what hurts us in ourselves.
And Jesus’ proposal goes even further: our shoulders do not remain empty for long. Once we have entrusted our burden to him he gives us another one, which seems to be even heavier. Jesus calls this new load a yoke, the name of the large piece of wood which connects two oxen to each other to plow or to tow something.
We are thus brought from a solitary effort to a common effort. Becoming an ox with Christ is a striking image. It recalls the image used by the prophet Isaiah, that of a suffering servant burdened with the faults of others.
Working in tandem, making a joint effort: this gesture is what connects us to God. Not only is God unafraid of our poverty, but in addition he invites us to undertake with him the great work he is accomplishing in the world: to liberate by bearing the burdens of others, especially the self-imposed burdens that are sometimes borne out of self-contempt.
This task is not one that we can achieve by ourselves. If I try to carry myself, often I will simply become a caricature of myself, so caught up in my own preoccupations that I forget everybody else or, even worse, become a burden to them. Listening to Jesus’ words, we are called rather to divest ourselves of our own worries and to accept Christ’s concerns in their place, to take upon ourselves a burden that, paradoxically, lightens our load.
This exchange recalls the very significance of Jesus’ life. In the first centuries, people dared to express it like this: Christ clothed himself with our humanity in order to clothe us with his divinity. In this way, he turns us into kings who have nothing greater to do than to carry the burdens of the little ones. Let us then offer our shoulders so that human beings are no longer victims of themselves. This is a kingly service, the beginning of the great liberation. It is the coming of the Kingdom.
- If I look at my personal life, what are the burdens I have to bear for others? Are they related to Christ’s “yoke”?
- How can we live in the best way possible the dimension of concern, of worrying about others that is part of a relationship of love?

“Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be put into your lap.”(Lk 6:38).

Has it ever happened that you received a gift from a friend and then felt you had to reciprocate — not so much because you felt obliged to pay the person back, but simply out of love and gratitude? I’m sure it has.

If you feel this way, imagine how God must feel, God who is love. God reciprocates every gift that we give to any neighbor in his name. True Christians experience this frequently. And each time it is a surprise. We can never get used to the inventiveness of God.
I could give you a thousand examples of this. I could even write a book on this subject alone, and you would see how true are the words, “A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be put into your lap.” God always reciprocates with generosity.
Here is one example. Night had fallen in Rome. In their basement apartment, a small group of young women who wanted to live the Gospel were wishing each other good night. Then the doorbell rang. Who could it be at this hour? At the door they found a panic-stricken young father. He was desperate: the following day he and his family were going to be evicted because they had been unable to pay their rent.
The women looked at one another and then, in silent agreement, went to the dresser drawer. There they kept what was left of their salaries. In envelopes marked “gas,” “electricity” and “telephone” was the money they had set aside for these bills. Without a moment’s worry about what would happen to them, they gave all the money to their visitor. That night they went to bed very happy. They knew someone else would take care of them.
Just before dawn the phone rang. It was the same man. “I’ve called a taxi, and I’m coming right over!” Amazed that he should have chosen to come by taxi, they awaited his arrival. As soon as they saw his face they knew something had changed. “Last night, as soon as I  got home,” he said. “I found I had received an inheritance I never dreamed I would get. My heart told me I should give half of it to you.” The amount he gave them was exactly twice what they had generously given him. 
“Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be put into your lap.”
Haven’t you also experienced this? If not, remember that the gift must be given with no self-interest, without hoping to get it back, and to whoever asks for it.
Try it, not so that you can see if it works, but because you love God.
You might be tempted to say, “I have nothing to give.” That’s not true. If we want to, each of us can discover that we possess inexhaustible treasures: our free time, our love, our smile, our advice, our peace, our words that might persuade someone who has to give to someone who has not.
You might also say, “I don’t know whom to give to.” Just look around you: don’t you remember that sick person in the hospital, that widow who always feels lonely, that boy in your class who failed and got discouraged, the young man who is sad because he can’t find a job, your little sister or brother who needs a helping hand, that friend who is in prison, that new person at work who is unsure of herself? In each person, Christ is waiting for you.
Put on the new style of behavior that comes from the Gospel and is the garment of a Christian. It is the exact opposite of having a closed mind or being concerned only about ourselves. Stop putting your trust in this world’s goods, and start relying on God. This will show your faith in him, and you will see from the gifts you receive that your faith is well founded.
It becomes apparent, however, that God does not give as he does in order to make us rich. He acts in this way so that many, many others, seeing the little miracles that happen to us as a result of our giving, may decide to do the same.
God also gives to us because the more we have the more we can give. He wants us to be administrators of his goods and see to it that they are distributed throughout the community around us, so that others might be able to repeat what was said of the first Christian community, “There was not a needy person among them” (Acts 4:34).
Don’t you think that in this way you too can help give a solid spiritual foundation to the social change that the world is waiting for?
“Give and it will be given to you.”
When Jesus said these words, undoubtedly he was thinking first and foremost of the reward we will receive in heaven. But the reward we receive on this earth gives us already a foretaste and a guarantee of our heavenly reward.
Chiara Lubich
(Previously published in June 1978 and October 2008)
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Linggo, Abril 28, 2013

τέκτων




SCRUTATIO SCRIPTURAE

τέκτων
TEKTON
(CARPENTER)

Scrutatio
for the
FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH, PATRON OF WORKERS
(May 1, 2013 Wednesday)

Readings from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer
Genesis 1:25-2:3 or Colossians 3:13-14, 17 and 23-24 / Psalm 90/ Matthew 13:54-58

Readings for the Pauline/Vatican II Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
Genesis 1:25-2:3 or Colossians 3:13-14, 17 and 23-24 / Psalm 90:2, 3-4, 12-13, 14 and 16. / Matthew 13:54-58

Readings for the Tridentine Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
Introit: Wisdom of King Solomon 10:17 and Psalm 127:1
(Psalm 127 is a PRO-LIFE and PRO-FAMILY PSALM)
Epistle: Colossians 3:13-14, 17


Gradual and Alleluia:
Psalms 91:15
V. Obtain for us, Joseph, grace to lead an innocent life, that we may always be protected by your patronage. Alleluia!
Alleluia!

Gospel
Matthew 13:54-58

Offertory:
Psalm 90:17
Communion Antiphon: Matthew 13:54-55

For today’s FEAST OF THE HOLY ROLE MODEL OF FATHERS AND WORKERS, JOSEPH OF NAZARETH, THE CHASTE SPOUSE OF OUR IMMACULATE MOTHER AND FOSTER FATHER OF OUR BLESSED LORD, let us meditate on these BLESSED WORDS from the SECOND ECUMENICAL COUNCIL OF THE VATICAN, from its Pastoral Constitution, GAUDIUM ET SPES, paragraphs 33-34:
The worldwide activity of man

By his labor and abilities man has always striven to improve the quality of his life. Today, particularly by means of science and technology, he has extended his mastery over almost the whole of nature, and still continues to extend it. Through the development of the many means of communication among nations, the human family is coming to see itself, and establish itself, as a single worldwide community. As a result, where formerly man looked especially to supernatural forces for blessings, he now secures many of these benefits for himself, thanks to his own efforts.

In the face of this vast enterprise now engaging the whole human race, men are asking themselves a series of questions. What is the meaning and value of all this activity? How should these benefits be used? Where are the efforts of individuals and communities finally leading us?

The Church is the guardian of the deposit of God's word, from which are drawn the principles of the religious and moral order. Without always having a ready answer to every question, the Church desires to integrate the light of revelation with the skilled knowledge of mankind, so that it may shine on the path which humanity has lately entered.

Those who believe in God take it for granted that, taken by itself, man's activity, both individual and collective - that great struggle in which men in the course of the ages have sought to improve the conditions of human living - is in keeping with God's purpose.

Man, created in God's image, has been commissioned to master the earth and all it contains, and so rule the world in justice and holiness. He is to acknowledge God as the creator of all, and to see himself and the whole universe in relation to God, in order that all things may be subject to man, and God's name be an object of wonder and praise over all the earth.

This commission extends to even the most ordinary activities of everyday life. Where men and women, in the course of gaining a livelihood for themselves and their families, offer appropriate service to society, they can be confident that their personal efforts promote the work of the Creator, confer benefit on their fellowmen, and help to realize God's plan in history.

So far from thinking that the achievements gained by man's abilities and strength are in opposition to God's power, or that man with his intelligence is in some sense a rival to his Creator, Christians are, on the contrary, convinced that the triumphs of the human race are a sign of God's greatness and the effect of his wonderful providence.

The more the power of men increases, the wider is the scope of their responsibilities, as individuals and as communities.

It is clear, then, that the Christian message does not deflect men from the building up of the world, or encourage them to neglect the good of their fellowmen, but rather places on them a stricter obligation to work for these objectives.  
Let this FEAST CHRISTIFY OUR LIVES, OUR WORKS AND ENDEAVORS, AND OUR SOCIETY!

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FROM OUR BRETHREN... A CHRISTIAN DENOMINATION THAT IS IN UNION WITH US IN OPPOSING THE FALLACIES OF THE RH/RP "LAW": "The People of God Given Love"


 "The People of God Given Love"

April 28, 2013

 THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF THE CHRISTIAN SEASON OF THE PASSOVER

 Acts 13: 44 – 52/Psalm 145: 1 – 9/Revelation 19: 1; 4 – 9/John 13: 31 – 35

 His Eminence
The Most Reverend Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines D.D.
Archbishop of Manila
and 
Primate 
of the 
National Church in the Philippines 
and 
the Territorial Church of Asia
International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church


Easter is the Season wherein we celebrate the love of God. How that out of love, He sent His Son, as in John 3:16,  to redeem the world unto Him, to take away the sin that which had separated man from God and hindered man from living out the character of God in his life.  God sent His Son to redeem us and to restore us because that is His character, that of restoration, not destruction.

 Most of the time, we refer to God giving us love.  I would just put a different thought in your mind:  how can One give love when He is love?  Everything He does is love.  The context of God giving love is as though He has choices.  He can give anger, bitterness, and other things but occasionally, He gives love.  No, He is love.  So therefore, all that comes forth out of His life is love. 
Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.  In our own lives, there is something that we must begin to comprehend, to understand, and to accept.  New creation – all things passed away, behold, all things are new; and all of these are from God. He who knew no sin became sin that we might become the righteousness of God, in Christ Jesus. 
In Acts 13, as Paul was teaching about Christ, there is a portion in 46th verse which says something to us that I believe you and I need to pay attention to.  It says that the Jews, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the religious leaders judged themselves unworthy of eternal life.  They rejected or repudiated it.  In other words, they said, “No. We are human beings. This cannot be for us.”  Paul tells them that the reason God turned to the Gentiles was because the Jews rejected the gift of God. 
I would challenge us to be cautious and careful in our attitudes that we do not reject what God has done for us.  We see ourselves made worthy because of Christ and because of His work in our lives.  We see Him bringing us out of darkness into His marvelous light.  Ephesians 1 says that He has set us for holiness and blamelessness before God.  Ephesians 5 says that He presented the Church holy and blameless before the Father.  Colossians 1:22 says, “He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.” 
This is the work of Christ, what He did for us.  We can reject it if we want.  We can say, “No, this is not me.  I am a sinner.  I am something else.”  No, this is what Christ did in our behalf. 
This is why in the gospel Jesus confronts us.  He says, “Love as I have loved you.” We might think this is impossible.  We might think this is not what we can do; but if we have been created in the image and likeness of God, if God is love, is that not the foundation of our creation? Were we not created in love?  Were we not created out of love?  Were we not created to demonstrate love? 
Love can only be known by the actions that it prompts – our thoughts; our actions; our deeds. This is why we can look at God and we can have confidence in Him because all that He does, He does out of love.  He doesn’t give love.  Love is the very essence, the very foundation, the very force behind everything that He does.  It motivates Him.  It controls Him.  It sets standards. 
Love is seen perhaps in the most vivid way when He sent His only Son.   He did not send His Son out of affection.  He did send His Son out of feelings, but it was a divine, deliberate choice.  He chose to send His Son because He is love and He loves His creation.  Without cause, other than the nature with which originates out of Him, therefore, what comes forth is love. 
2Corinthians 5:14 says, “For the love of Christ controls us; as one died, we all died.”  The love of God sent Christ to die and because of His death, it changes our lives.  It changes the very essence of who we are.   We have been delivered out of the sin, out of the darkness into new life because of the love of God.  It controls us.  I am not saying that we cannot reject it or we have no choice, but I am sharing what the Scriptures says that it controls us.  He forgave us.  It was His choice and He did this in our behalf. 
Ephesians 2:4, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love which with He loved us.” Mercy comes out of His love.  Everything that He does comes forth out of love.   In Ephesians, it also says that to know the love of Christ surpasses knowledge.  When we know that God is love, all the other things will fit into that pattern.  Knowledge, perhaps, is knowing that we have failed; knowing that we have done wrong, but yet love overcomes that. 
It is like a parent with a child.  The child may have done something wrong. The child may have violated something that we can consider very serious, but yet love for that child overcomes that wrong.  It causes a parent not to deny the child, but to come to his aide, to come to his help – not happy, not pleased, but at the same time not rejecting and not denying. That love comes because we are created like God. It comes because we were given that character because it is His character.  Many times we have changed that character.  We have adulterated it because we have allowed hatred or bitterness and other things to come into our lives. 
Love is the very character that God has lived in and has given to us. Maybe, this is why the Scriptures says, “Forgive.”   This is why it says, “Don’t hold bitterness in your heart.”  Maybe  it is why it says, “Don’t remember the wrongs.”   This is contrary to the character that God has created us to be.  Perhaps, it causes there to be friction between what He made us to be in what we are doing.  Perhaps, this is why we find sickness and disease because we have not followed who we are.  We have not live out the character that God has given to us. 
That love surpasses knowledge.  We know the wrongs, the failures, the deceits, but love is greater than these.  Love conquers, overcomes, and wipes away the things that separate to bring back together the unity. 
In the gospel, Jesus said, ‘A new commandment I give to you.”  The first thing that I would think of, “In the Old Testament law, it said, ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’”  He had already commanded us to love.  What is this that He says that is now a new commandment? When the Scriptures talk about something new, it means fulfillment, bringing it to its completeness.  If you look at it very carefully, He explains why this is a new law. 
The Old Testament law was based on the self being the foundation – self is the standard. But in the new Law, it is not “me” that is the standard; it is now Christ: “Love as I have loved you.”  It is a self-sacrificing love.  It is a self-emptying love as Christ emptied Himself in order to redeem us.  He did not take care of Himself first.  He did not provide for Himself first.  He gave of Himself in order that we might be freed. 
Jesus, demanding this love, requires us to die.  Love requires death. It is not physical death as we think of death but dying of self.  Scripture very clearly brings this out to us: “It is no longer I who lives.”  Many times we have quoted the Scripture but when it comes to protecting our own feelings, our own emotions, this is not something that we follow quickly.  Dying to self brings new life.  It did with Christ.  It set the pattern for us.  He went to the cross.  He died that we might be freed from sin, and that we might become the righteousness of God because of His death for us. 
This dying transforms the world.  The dying to self brings glory to God and brings new life to all. It brings that honor to Him which gives security to us. We are not intimidated. We are not threatened and we need not defend ourselves or our thoughts because we are secure in Him. We have peace and confidence.  It brings about dynamic results when we die to self.  Eventually, it brings a new heaven, a new earth and even a New Jerusalem.  Scripture tells us that all things become new.   It comes because of death in love. 
The dying of self-centeredness, the dying of pride, the dying of arrogance; the security that comes in knowing that we are like God and He is operating in that character of love in our behalf.  We can only do this by the power that God gives to us.  The grace comes from Him, but it is a grace that He has established within us.  This is not an impossibility.  All things are possible with God and Christ commands us, “A new commandment I give unto you that you love one another even as I have loved you.” 
How important is this? How valuable is this?  We have all been taught that one of the greatest things that we can do is our giving to God – honoring Him and blessing Him.  But in Matthew 5:23-24, it says, “If you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering at the altar and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”
The thought that is presented to us: is not the unity more important than our giving?  Is not the unity, the separation of the differences more important than our offerings?  Our offerings cannot go beyond the very character that we are living out.  We see this in the treasury when Christ was there and the wealthy were bringing big offerings.  He did not recognize those offerings, but a widow brought just a small gift and God said, “Her gift was the greatest.”  It wasn’t the amount of the offering, but the heart attitude.  It was the completeness of forgiveness in life. 
This is very important for us in the world that we live in today.  Today, we are pushed into self-centeredness.  We are told, “Do the things which pleases you.  Do the things which you want to do.  Don’t be involved in things that require your attention or your own sacrifice.” We find it more and more that marriage is becoming something that is in the back burner.  Many of the condominiums that are being built are basically studios – for one person – I just don’t know the percentage.  People don’t want responsibility – “It is only me.  Because it is only me, I can do many things for myself.  I don’t have to worry about children.  I don’t have to worry about a wife or a husband. I can do what I want.  I can spend my money for me.” 
This is exactly what the Scriptures is opening up to us – the necessity of dying to self.  We live in a world today where that, “What I want to do is more important than anyone else.  What I need to do is more important even than my relationship with God or my commitment to ministry of God.  I don’t have time because I want to do this.  I don’t have time because of ‘I’.”  How many things separate us when the Scriptures talks to us about dying to self? 
This is love that reflects the greatness of God’s commission to us.  It is love that speaks of our attitude and our commitment to others.  How that we forget our own comforts in order to reach out to others.  Galatians 6 says, “Let us do good to all men and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”  In Romans, it says to please your neighbor for his good, to his edification. It is not for your good.  It is not for that which wants him to look at you and say, “You are very kind. You are nice.”  No, it is for him and to help him and to bring him to that point where He can know that He is loved, that He is appreciated. 
This is life that Christianity is. It is what God has given to us.  It is love.  He is love and therefore, we have been created in His image and likeness, the very roots of that is also in our creation. 
This is why with children, parents can forgive. Parents can overlook weaknesses because that is who they are.  It has to go beyond just family.  It must also reach the world.  It must reach to all those around us.  This is what Christ speaks to us, “A new commandment that I give unto you that you shall love even as I have loved you; also, you love one another.” 
This is the value of Easter.  Here is the witness of Christianity.  Scriptures says, “They will know that you are My disciples because you love one another.”  This is why in the midst of the liturgy there is a time when we give peace to one another. It is a time for correcting or healing divisions.   Before we come to the altar with our gifts, there is a necessity of making certain that we have no bitterness or anger toward any, and our gift will be received by God, and it will be recorded in our name. 
May we as God’s people recognize the gift that He has given to us.  It came out of love; that love gave us new life.  It restored us to our creation.  It caused us to be who God made us to be because it took away the oppression of sin.  It held us back. Now, we need to live out the character of our lives.  We need to set aside the schizophrenic attitude of the world that says, “No, I can take care of me. I don’t need to be worried about others.”   We need to live out what God made us to be – love, compassion, gentleness, mercy.  All these things are the character of God in our lives.   They have been given to us.  They are part of our character.  We need to develop them.  We need to let them be in our lives what God intended them to be. 
God is love.  Thank God for Him being love because if it was not love, He would have destroyed us rather than restore us.  If He was not love, He would not have gone to help the Body of Christ and redeem those who have died prior to the cross.  This is love. They did not have a chance to repent, as we know repentance, and yet He went to save them. He went to give them also a new life. 
Here is love like we do not understand love.  Love that is greater than the failures and the wrongs.  It is the love that is greater than the sin and the rebellion.  It is love which is God.  He has given that love to us. In our lives, we are not also asked by Christ, but as a commandment.  A commandment is not asking, but it is more like the standard, the commitment that we live out.  “Love as I have loved you.”  Being willing to forgive.  More concerned about reconciliation than destruction.  More concerned about life, rather than death.  More concerned that we be like Christ. 

LET US CONTINUE OUR REFLECTION 
WITH
HIS EMINENCE, THE MOST REVEREND LUIS ANTONIO "CHITO" GOKIM TAGLE  D.D.

ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA, 
CARDINAL OF HOLY MOTHER CHURCH
AND 
VENERABLE PRIMATE
OF THE PHILIPPINES

THROUGH
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