"They are no longer two, but one flesh"

DAILY GOSPEL: 13/08/2010

«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68

Friday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Ezekiel 16:1-15.60.63.
Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.
Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: By origin and birth you are of the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
As for your birth, the day you were born your navel cord was not cut; you were neither washed with water nor anointed, nor were you rubbed with salt, nor swathed in swaddling clothes.
No one looked on you with pity or compassion to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out on the ground as something loathsome, the day you were born.
Then I passed by and saw you weltering in your blood. I said to you: Live in your blood
and grow like a plant in the field. You grew and developed, you came to the age of puberty; your breasts were formed, your hair had grown, but you were still stark naked.
Again I passed by you and saw that you were now old enough for love. So I spread the corner of my cloak over you to cover your nakedness; I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you; you became mine, says the Lord GOD.
Then I bathed you with water, washed away your blood, and anointed you with oil.
I clothed you with an embroidered gown, put sandals of fine leather on your feet; I gave you a fine linen sash and silk robes to wear.
I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms, a necklace about your neck,
a ring in your nose, pendants in your ears, and a glorious diadem upon your head.
Thus you were adorned with gold and silver; your garments were of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. Fine flour, honey, and oil were your food. You were exceedingly beautiful, with the dignity of a queen.
You were renowned among the nations for your beauty, perfect as it was, because of my splendor which I had bestowed on you, says the Lord GOD.
But you were captivated by your own beauty, you used your renown to make yourself a harlot, and you lavished your harlotry on every passer-by, whose own you became.
Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were a girl, and I will set up an everlasting covenant with you.
that you may remember and be covered with confusion, and that you may be utterly silenced for shame when I pardon you for all you have done, says the Lord GOD.

Book of Isaiah 12:2-3.4.5-6.
God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation,
and say on that day: Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement; let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel!

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 19:3-12.
Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?"
He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female'
and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate."
They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss (her)?"
He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery."
(His) disciples said to him, "If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry."
He answered, "Not all can accept (this) word, but only those to whom that is granted.
Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it."

 Mt 19,3-12

Commentary of the day 
The Roman Missal
Rite of marriage : Nuptial blessing 5

"They are no longer two, but one flesh"

Lord our God,
creator of the universe and all living things,
you made man and woman in your own likeness (Gn 1,27)
and gave them loving hearts
with which to participate in your work of love.
You willed that in this church today
the lives of your servants, N. and N., should be united,
and now you will that they may make their home together,
may seek to love each other more and more each day
and follow Christ's example in his love for others
even to death on the cross.
Bless, strengthen and protect the love of these newlyweds;
may their love sustain their fidelity to each other,
bringing them happiness and causing them find in Christ
the joy of complete self-giving to the one they love.
May their love, like yours, O Lord,
become a source of life;
may it make them ever attentive to the needs of their neighbors;
and may their home be open to all in need.
Supported by their love, and the love of Christ,
may they play an active part
in building up a more just and fraternal world
and thus be faithful to their human and christian vocation.
Amen.  

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Friday, 13 August 2010

St. Radegundes, Queen of France (519-587)

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SAINT RADEGUNDES
Queen of France
(519-587)

        St. Radegundes was the daughter of a king of Thuringia who was assassinated by his brother; a war ensuing, our Saint, at the age of twelve, was made prisoner and carried captive by Clotaire, King of Soissons, who had her instructed in the Christian religion and baptized. The great mysteries of our Faith made such an impression on her tender soul that she gave herself to God with her whole heart, and desired to consecrate to him her virginity; she was obliged at last, however, to yield to the king's wish that she should become his wife. As a great queen, she continued no less an enemy to sloth and vanity than she was before, and divided her time chiefly between her oratory, the Church, and the care of the poor. She also kept long fasts, and during Lent wore a hair-cloth under her rich garments.
        Clotaire was at first pleased with her devotions, and allowed her full liberty in them, but afterward used frequently to reproach her for her pious exercises, saying he had married a nun rather than a queen, who converted his court into a monastery. Seeing that Clotaire was inflamed by bad passions, our Saint asked and obtained his leave to retire from court. She went to Noyon, and was consecrated deaconess by St. Medard.
        Radegundes first withdrew to Sais, and some time after she went to Poitiers, and there built a great monastery. She had a holy virgin, named Agnes, made the first abbess, and paid to her an implicit obedience in all things, not reserving to herself the disposal of the least thing. King Clotaire, repenting of his evil conduct, wished her to return to court, but, through the intercession of St. Germanus of Paris, she was allowed to remain in her retirement, where she died on the 13th of August, 587.

«Ya no son dos, sino una sola carne»

EVANGELIO DEL DÍA: 13/08/2010

¿ Señor, a quién iremos?. Tú tienes palabras de vida eterna. Jn 6, 68

Viernes de la XIX Semana del Tiempo Ordinario

Libro de Ezequiel 16,1-15.60.63.
La palabra del Señor me llegó en estos términos:
Hijo de hombre, da a conocer a Jerusalén sus abominaciones.
Tú dirás: Así habla el Señor a Jerusalén: Por tus orígenes y tu nacimiento, perteneces al país de Canaán; tu padre era un amorreo y tu madre una hitita.
Al nacer, el día en que te dieron a luz, tu cordón umbilical no fue cortado, no fuiste lavada con agua para ser purificada ni frotada con sal, ni envuelta en pañales.
Nadie se compadeció de ti para hacerte alguna de esas cosas, sino que fuiste arrojada en pleno campo, porque dabas asco el día que naciste.
Yo pasé junto a ti, te vi revolcándote en tu propia sangre y entonces te dije: "Vive
y crece como un retoño del campo". Tú comenzaste a crecer, te desarrollaste y te hiciste mujer; se formaron tus senos y crecieron tus cabellos, pero estabas completamente desnuda.
Yo pasé junto a ti y te vi. Era tu tiempo, el tiempo del amor; extendí sobre ti el borde de mi manto y cubrí tu desnudez; te hice un juramento, hice una alianza contigo -oráculo del Señor- y tú fuiste mía.
Yo te lavé con agua, limpié la sangre que te cubría y te perfumé con óleo.
Te puse un vestido bordado, te calcé con zapatos de cuero fino, te ceñí con una banda de lino y te cubrí con un manto de seda.
Te adorné con joyas, puse brazaletes en tus muñecas y un collar en tu cuello;
coloqué un anillo en tu nariz, pendientes en tus orejas y una espléndida diadema en tu cabeza.
Estabas adornada de oro y de plata, tu vestido era de lino fino, de seda y de tela bordada; te alimentabas con la mejor harina, con miel y aceite. Llegaste a ser extraordinariamente hermosa y te convertiste en una reina.
Tu fama se extendió entre las naciones, porque tu belleza era perfecta gracias al esplendor con que yo te había adornado -oráculo del Señor-.
Pero tú te preciaste de tu hermosura y te aprovechaste de tu fama para prostituirte; te entregaste sin pudor a todo el que pasaba y fuiste suya.
Pero yo me acordaré de la alianza que hice contigo en los días de tu juventud y establecerá para ti una alianza eterna.
para que te acuerdes y te avergüences, y para que en tu confusión no te atrevas a abrir la boca, cuando yo te haya perdonado todo lo que has hecho -oráculo del Señor-.

Libro de Isaías 12,2-3.4.5-6.
Este es el Dios de mi salvación: yo tengo confianza y no temo, porque el Señor es mi fuerza y mi protección; él fue mi salvación.
Ustedes sacarán agua con alegría de las fuentes de la salvación.
Y dirán en aquel día: Den gracias al Señor, invoquen su Nombre, anuncien entre los pueblos sus proezas, proclamen qué sublime es su Nombre
Canten al Señor porque ha hecho algo grandioso: ¡que sea conocido en toda la tierra!
¡Aclama y grita de alegría, habitante de Sión, porque es grande en medio de ti el Santo de Israel!

Evangelio según San Mateo 19,3-12.
Se acercaron a él algunos fariseos y, para ponerlo a prueba, le dijeron: "¿Es lícito al hombre divorciarse de su mujer por cualquier motivo?".
El respondió: "¿No han leído ustedes que el Creador, desde el principio, los hizo varón y mujer;
y que dijo: Por eso, el hombre dejará a su padre y a su madre para unirse a su mujer, y los dos no serán sino una sola carne?
De manera que ya no son dos, sino una sola carne. Que el hombre no separe lo que Dios ha unido".
Le replicaron: "Entonces, ¿por qué Moisés prescribió entregar una declaración de divorcio cuando uno se separa?".
El les dijo: "Moisés les permitió divorciarse de su mujer, debido a la dureza del corazón de ustedes, pero al principio no era así.
Por lo tanto, yo les digo: El que se divorcia de su mujer, a no ser en caso de unión ilegal, y se casa con otra, comete adulterio".
Los discípulos le dijeron: "Si esta es la situación del hombre con respecto a su mujer, no conviene casarse".
Y él les respondió: "No todos entienden este lenguaje, sino sólo aquellos a quienes se les ha concedido.
En efecto, algunos no se casan, porque nacieron impotentes del seno de su madre; otros, porque fueron castrados por los hombres; y hay otros que decidieron no casarse a causa del Reino de los Cielos. ¡El que pueda entender, que entienda!". 

 Mt 19,3-12

Leer el comentario del Evangelio por 
El Misal Romano
Ritual del matrimonio: Bendición 5ª

«Ya no son dos, sino una sola carne»

     Señor, Dios nuestro,
creador del universo y de todo lo que vive,
tú has hecho al hombre y a la mujer a tu semejanza (Gn 1,27),
y para asociarlos a tu obra de amor,
les has dado un corazón capaz de amar.
     Tú has querido que hoy, en esta iglesia,
N. y N. unan sus vidas.
     Tú quieres que ahora construyan su propio hogar,
que busquen amarse cada día más
siguiendo el ejemplo de Cristo
que amó a los hombres hasta morir en una cruz.
     Bendice, protege y fortifica el amor de estos nuevos esposos:
que su amor mutuo sostenga su fidelidad;
les haga felices y les haga descubrir en Cristo
el gozo del don total a quien se ama.
     Que su amor, semejante a tu amor, Señor,
sea para ellos una fuente de vida;
que les mantenga atentos a las necesidades de sus hermanos,
y que su hogar esté abierto a los otros.
     Que apoyando su amor en el amor de Cristo
tomen parte activa en la construcción de un mundo más justo y fraterno
y así sean fieles a su vocación de hombres y de cristianos.
Amén.

viernes 13 Agosto 2010 San Tarsicio San Tarsicio, mártir de la Eucaristía Tarsicio es el primero en proclamar su fe en el misterio eucarístico hasta el extremo de consignar su vida, por eso se le conoce como elprotomártir de la Eucaristía.Defendió en silencio a su Dios presente en la Hostia Santa, correspondiendo a la entrega del Amigo que se ofrecía por su vida, y por la de todos, en la Eucaristía. Al amanecer del dies solis, acabada la celebración de la Eucaristía, Tarsicio cruza la vía Apia para llevar la Comunión a sus hermanos enfermos o encarcelados. Debía de notarse que ocultaba algo, porque unos soldados lo detienen y le obligan a enseñarles qué portaba. Tarsicio se niega con firmeza. Contrasta la brutalidad de los comisarios con la aparente fragilidad del adolescente, que resiste la lapidación hasta yacer en tierra, abrazado a las especies eucarísticas. Tarsicio sufre el martirio el 15 de agosto del año 257. El emperador Valeriano acababa de promulgar un edicto que prohibía bajo pena de muerte cualquier acto de culto cristiano, como un intento de erradicar la Iglesia desde su núcleo más fundamental. Las autoridades civiles sabían que los bautizados se reunían para dar culto a Dios. Plinio el Joven -gobernador de Bitinia a inicios del siglo II- apunta: "un día determinado, antes del alba, se reúnen para cantar en coro un himno a Cristo, como a un dios". El día determinado era el primero de la semana; los romanos lo habían denominado dies solis, en honor al dios Sol, y los primeros fieles aprovecharon esta coincidencia para "orientar la celebración de ese día hacia Cristo, el verdadero sol de la humanidad": el centro de la vida. Más adelante se le llamó dies Domini, tal y como aparece en el Apocalipsis, porque daba a la jornada el pleno significado que deriva del mensaje pascual: Cristo Jesús es el Señor de la Creación. El día del sol era laborable. A pesar de que el Imperio declaraba muchas jornadas festivas, no se había determinado ninguna para el descanso: asistir a Misa suponía dormir pocas horas o pasar la noche en vela. Los cristianos actuaban movidos por "una exigencia interior que (…) sentían con tanta fuerza que al principio no se consideró necesario prescribirla. Sólo más tarde, ante la tibieza o negligencia de algunos, se ha debido explicitar el deber de participar en la Misa del domingo". Acudir a la fracción del pan el día del Seño era una necesidad prescrita en el corazón de los bautizados. Ni el edicto de Valeriano ni las sucesivas amenazas lograban quebrantar la fe de aquellos primeros: "¡no podemos vivir sin el domingo!", exclamaban los mártires de Abitene, detenidos por haber incurrido en una reunión ilegal. Tharsos, audacia, confianza Tarsicio era acólito en una iglesia doméstica construida a cielo abierto, en el cementerio de Calixto, sobre la Vía Apia. Bien entrada la noche del sábado o antes del amanecer del domingo, el joven se dirige a la domus para ayudar en la celebración eucarística, que seguiría aproximadamente el orden que describe San Justino: "Se leen, según el tiempo disponible, las Memorias de los Apóstoles y los escritos de los profetas. Después, el lector calla y el presidente toma la palabra para exhortarnos a imitar los buenos ejemplosque acaban de ser citados. A continuación, todos se ponen en pie y recitan las oraciones. Por último (…) la comunidad ora y da gracias con todas sus fuerzas; el pueblo responde con la aclamación Amén. Después se distribuye a cada uno los alimentos consagrados y se envían a los ausentes". Quienes sufrían alguna enfermedad o permanecían en prisión no quedaban privados del fármaco de la inmortalidad, el antídoto contra la muerte, como llamaba San Ignacio de Antioquía a la Eucaristía. Después del mencionado edicto de Valeriano, llevarles la Comunión suponía un riesgo. Probablemente por eso se elegía a niños o adolescentes para cumplir este encargo, pues circulaban por la Urbe con cierta facilidad y se les permitía visitar a los encarcelados. Así consta en el Liber Pontificalis: "reciben el alimento que nosotros hemos consagrado por medio de los acólitos". Al acabar la Misa, Tarsicio se ofrece a llevar la Eucaristía. Podían hacerlo otros acólitos, pero el joven se adelanta con generosidad: ha recibido el don por excelencia y quiere compartirlo. Es necesario agrandar el corazón para acercarse a Jesús sacramentado. Ciertamente, se precisa la fe; pero se requiere además, para ser alma de Eucaristía, saber querer, saber darse a los demás, imitando -dentro de nuestra pobre poquedad- la entrega de Cristo a todos y a cada uno. Tarsicio sale de la domus custodiando al Señor junto a su pecho, entre los pliegues de la túnica. Tal vez por curiosidad o por malicia, unos hombres lo interceptan y le piden que entregue lo que lleva. La negativa les desconcierta, y se ensañan más aún hasta quitarle la vida. Causa estupor la firmeza del adolescente en defender lo que luego descubren como un trozo de pan. El nombre Tarsicio -según algunos autores- deriva de la palabra griega tharsos, que significa valor, audacia, confianza. Su fortaleza es una prueba más de que -desde los comienzos- la Iglesia entendía las palabras de Jesucristo: esto es mi cuerpo, ésta es mi sangre, de un modo real, no metafórico. ¿Quién se hubiera dejado lapidar por un símbolo? San Justino afirmaba que la Eucaristía es "la carne y la sangre de aquel Jesús que se encarnó", y San Ireneo añadía que el Cuerpo resucitado de Cristo vivifica nuestra carne: al comulgar "nuestros cuerpos no son corruptibles sino que poseen el don de la resurrección para siempre". Tarsicio es el primero en proclamar su fe en el misterio eucarístico hasta el extremo de consignar su vida, por eso se le conoce como el protomártir de la Eucaristía: Esteban confesó que Jesús era el Mesías, pronunciando un discurso que le llevó a ola lapidación; Tarsicio defendió en silencio a su Dios presente en la Hostia Santa, correspondiendo a la entrega del Amigo que se ofrecía por su vida, y por la de todos, en la Eucaristía. Según una tradición antigua, cuando Tarsicio yacía en tierra, pasó un soldado catecúmeno que se llamaba Cuadrado. Reconoció al joven cristiano y lo cargó en sus hombros hasta el cementerio de Calixto. Depuso el cadáver en el mausoleo construido en la superficie -la cella tricora-, junto a los restos mortales del Papa Ceferino. En el siglo VIII, trasladaron su cuerpo a la iglesia romana de San Silvestro in Capite. A partir del siglo XVI,sus restos descansan bajo el altar mayor. Actualmente, sobre el altar de ese templo se expone la Eucaristía. Muchos transeúntes aún ignoran o han olvidado la presencia de Cristo en el Santísimo Sacramento. Necesitan que alguien despierte sus conciencias, recordándoles que "allí, en ese trozo de pan, se encuentra realmente el Señor, quien da el verdadero sentido a la vida, al inmenso universo y a la más pequeña criatura, a toda la historia humana y a la más breve existencia"; que "la Eucaristía es el sacramento del Dios que no nos deja solos en el camino, sino que se pone a nuestro lado y nos indica la dirección"; que si tenemos en Él nuestro centro, descubrimos el sentido de la misión que se nos ha confiado, tenemos un ideal humano que se hace divino, (…) y llegamos a sacrificar gustosamente no ya tal o cual aspecto de nuestra actividad, sino la vida entera, dándole así, paradójicamente, su más hondo cumplimiento. Alborea. Por las calles de Roma empiezan a circular vendedores, obreros, comerciantes. Los cristianos que acaban de asistir a la Santa Misa en la iglesia doméstica de Calixto se dirigen a sus lugares de trabajo  o a sus domicilios, en una acción de gracias continuada. "Para el fiel que ha comprometido el sentido de lo realizado, la celebración eucarística no termina sólo dentro del templo. Como los discípulos de Emaús, que reconocen a Cristo en la fracción del pan, experimentan la exigencia de ir inmediatamente a compartir con sus hermanos la alegría del encuentro con el Señor".

"Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?"

DAILY GOSPEL: 12/08/2010

«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68

Thursday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Ezekiel 12:1-12.
Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house; they have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.
Now, son of man, during the day while they are looking on, prepare your baggage as though for exile, and again while they are looking on, migrate from where you live to another place; perhaps they will see that they are a rebellious house.
You shall bring out your baggage like an exile in the daytime while they are looking on; in the evening, again while they are looking on, you shall go out like one of those driven into exile;
while they look on, dig a hole in the wall and pass through it;
while they look on, shoulder the burden and set out in the darkness; cover your face that you may not see the land, for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel.
I did as I was told. During the day I brought out my baggage as though it were that of an exile, and at evening I dug a hole through the wall with my hand and, while they looked on, set out in the darkness, shouldering my burden.
Then, in the morning, the word of the LORD came to me:
Son of man, did not the house of Israel, that rebellious house, ask you what you were doing?
Tell them: Thus says the Lord GOD: This oracle concerns Jerusalem and the whole house of Israel within it.
I am a sign for you: as I have done, so shall it be done to them; as captives they shall go into exile.
The prince who is among them shall shoulder his burden and set out in darkness, going through a hole that he has dug in the wall, and covering his face lest he be seen by anyone.

Psalms 78(77):56-57.58-59.61-62.
But they tested, rebelled against God Most High, his decrees they did not observe.
They turned back, deceitful like their ancestors; they proved false like a bow with no tension.
They enraged him with their high places; with their idols they goaded him.
God heard and grew angry; he rejected Israel completely.
He gave up his might into captivity, his glorious ark into the hands of the foe.
God abandoned his people to the sword; he was enraged against his heritage.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18:21-35.19:1.
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, «Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?»
Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'
Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, 'Pay back what you owe.'
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?'
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart."
When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
Mt 18,21-35#Mt 19,1-1

Commentary of the day
Saint Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), Religious Sister
Diary, § 163 (©1987 Congregation of Marians)

"Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?"

I want to be completely transformed into your mercy and to be your living reflection, O Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors' souls and come to their rescue.
Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors' needs and not be indifferent to their pain and moaning.
Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.
Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.
Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me.
You yourself command me to exercise the three degrees of mercy. The first: the act of mercy, of whatever kind. The second: the word of mercy – if I cannot carry out a work of mercy, I will assist by my words. The third: prayer – if I cannot show mercy by deeds or words, I can always do so by prayer. My prayer reaches out even there where I cannot reach out physically.
O my Jesus, transform me into yourself, for you can do all things.



Thursday, 12 August 2010
St. Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641)

Other saints of the day

SAINT JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL
(1572-1641)

At the age of sixteen, Jane Frances de Frémyot, already a motherless child, was placed under the care of a worldly-minded governess. In this crisis she offered herself to the Mother of God, and secured Mary's protection for life. When a Protestant sought her hand, she steadily refused to marry "an enemy of God and his Church," and shortly afterwards, as the loving and beloved wife of the Baron de Chantal, made her house the pattern of a Christian home.
But God had marked her for something higher than domestic sanctity. Two children and a dearly beloved sister died, and, in the full tide of prosperity, her husband's life was taken by the innocent hand of a friend. For seven years the sorrows of her widowhood were increased by ill-usage from servants and inferiors, and the cruel importunities of friends, who urged her to marry again. Harassed almost to despair by their entreaties, she branded on her heart the name of Jesus, and in the end left her beloved home and children to live for God alone.
It was on the 19th of March, 1609, that Madame de Chantal bade farewell to her family and relations. Pale, and with tears in her eyes, she passed round the large room, sweetly and humbly taking leave of each. Her son, a boy of fifteen, used every entreaty, every endearment, to induce his mother not to leave them, and at last passionately flung himself across the door of the room. In an agony of distress, she passed on over the body of her son to the embrace of her aged and disconsolate father. The anguish of that parting reached its height when, kneeling at the feet of the venerable old man, she sought and obtained his last blessing, promising to repay in her new home his sacrifice by her prayers.
Well might St. Francis call her "the valiant woman." She was to found with St. Francis de Sales a great Order. Sickness, opposition, want, beset her, and the death of children, friends, and of St. Francis himself followed, while eighty-seven houses of the Visitation rose under her hand. Nine long years of interior desolation completed the work of God's grace; and in her seventieth year St. Vincent of Paul saw, at the moment of her death, her soul ascend, as a ball of fire, to heaven.



Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

«¿No debías tú también tener compasión de tu compañero, como yo tuve compasión de ti?»

EVANGELIO DEL DÍA: 12/08/2010

¿ Señor, a quién iremos?. Tú tienes palabras de vida eterna. Jn 6, 68

Jueves de la XIX Semana del Tiempo Ordinario

Libro de Ezequiel 12,1-12.
La palabra del Señor me llegó en estos términos:
Hijo de hombre, tú habitas en medio de un pueblo rebelde: ellos tienen ojos para ver, pero no ven, tienen oídos para oír, pero no oyen, porque son un pueblo rebelde.
En cuanto a ti, hijo de hombre, prepara tu equipaje como si tuvieras que ir al exilio, y parte en pleno día, a la vista de ellos. Emigrarás del lugar donde te encuentras hacia otro lugar, a la vista de ellos: tal vez así comprendan que son un pueblo rebelde.
Sacarás tu equipaje en pleno día, a la vista de ellos, y saldrás por la tarde, también a la vista de ellos, como salen los deportados.
Abrirás un boquete en el muro y saldrás por él, a la vista de ellos.
Cargarás el equipaje sobre tus espaldas y saldrás cuando sea de noche, cubriéndote el rostro para no ver el país, porque yo te he convertido en un presagio para el pueblo de Israel.
Yo hice exactamente lo que se me había ordenado: saqué mi equipaje en pleno día como quien parte para el exilio, y por la tarde abrí un boquete en el muro con la mano. Salí cuando estaba oscuro y cargué el equipaje sobre mis espaldas, a la vista de ellos.
A la mañana, la palabra del Señor me llegó en estos términos:
Hijo de hombre, ¿no te ha preguntado la casa de Israel, ese pueblo rebelde, qué es lo que estás haciendo?
Diles: Así habla el Señor: Este oráculo se refiere al príncipe que está en Jerusalén y a todo el pueblo de Israel que vive en medio de ella.
Diles también: Yo soy un presagio para ustedes. Lo mismo que yo hice se hará con ellos: serán deportados e irán al exilio.
El príncipe que está en medio de ellos cargará el equipaje sobre sus espaldas durante la noche, y saldrá por el boquete que abrirán en el muro para hacerlo salir; y él se cubrirá el rostro, para no ver el país.

Salmo 78(77),56-57.58-59.61-62.
Pero ellos tentaron e irritaron a Dios, no observaron los preceptos del Altísimo;
desertaron y fueron traidores como sus padres, se desviaron como un arco fallido.
Lo afligieron con sus lugares de culto, le provocaron celos con sus ídolos:
Dios lo advirtió y se llenó de indignación, y rechazó duramente a Israel.
entregó su Fortaleza al cautiverio, su Arca gloriosa en manos del enemigo.
Entregó su pueblo a la espada, se enfureció contra su herencia;

Evangelio según San Mateo 18,21-35.19,1.
Entonces se adelantó Pedro y le dijo: "Señor, ¿cuántas veces tendré que perdonar a mi hermano las ofensas que me haga? ¿Hasta siete veces?".
Jesús le respondió: "No te digo hasta siete veces, sino hasta setenta veces siete.
Por eso, el Reino de los Cielos se parece a un rey que quiso arreglar las cuentas con sus servidores.
Comenzada la tarea, le presentaron a uno que debía diez mil talentos.
Como no podía pagar, el rey mandó que fuera vendido junto con su mujer, sus hijos y todo lo que tenía, para saldar la deuda.
El servidor se arrojó a sus pies, diciéndole: "Señor, dame un plazo y te pagaré todo".
El rey se compadeció, lo dejó ir y, además, le perdonó la deuda.
Al salir, este servidor encontró a uno de sus compañeros que le debía cien denarios y, tomándolo del cuello hasta ahogarlo, le dijo: 'Págame lo que me debes'.
El otro se arrojó a sus pies y le suplicó: 'Dame un plazo y te pagaré la deuda'.
Pero él no quiso, sino que lo hizo poner en la cárcel hasta que pagara lo que debía.
Los demás servidores, al ver lo que había sucedido, se apenaron mucho y fueron a contarlo a su señor.
Este lo mandó llamar y le dijo: '¡Miserable! Me suplicaste, y te perdoné la deuda.
¿No debías también tú tener compasión de tu compañero, como yo me compadecí de tí?'.
E indignado, el rey lo entregó en manos de los verdugos hasta que pagara todo lo que debía.
Lo mismo hará también mi Padre celestial con ustedes, si no perdonan de corazón a sus hermanos".
Cuando Jesús terminó de decir estas palabras, dejó la Galilea y fue al territorio de Judea, más allá del Jordán. 

 Mt 18,21-35#Mt 19,1-1

Leer el comentario del Evangelio por 
Santa Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), religiosa
Diario íntimo, § 163

« ¿No debías tú también tener compasión de tu compañero, como yo tuve compasión de ti?»

     Deseo transformarme toda entera en tu misericordia y ser así un reflejo de ti, oh Señor; que el más grande de tus atributos divinos, tu insondable misericordia, pase a través de mi alma y mi corazón hasta el prójimo.
     Ayúdame, Señor, a fin que mis ojos sean misericordiosos, para que no sospeche jamás ni juzgue según las apariencias exteriores, sino que sepa ver la belleza en el alma de mi prójimo y le ayude.
     Ayúdame, Señor, a que mis oídos sean misericordiosos y me interese por las necesidades de mi prójimo y no me quede indiferente ante sus dolores y sus quejas.
     Ayúdame, Señor, para que mi lengua sea misericordiosa a fin que jamás diga mal de mi prójimo, sino que tenga para cada uno una palabra de consuelo y de perdón.
     Ayúdame, Señor, a que mis manos sean misericordiosas y llenas de buenas acciones para que sepa hacer el bien a mi prójimo y sepa escoger para mí los trabajos más pesados y más desagradables.
Ayúdame, Señor, para que mis pies sean misericordiosos, para que me apresure a socorrer a mi prójimo dominando mi propia fatiga y mi pereza. Que mi verdadero descanso sea servir a mi prójimo.
     Ayúdame, Señor, a que mi corazón sea misericordioso y así sienta en mí todos los sufrimientos de mi prójimo. Mi corazón no rechazará a nadie. Iré frecuentemente a encontrar a los que, incluso sé que van a abusar de mi bondad, y yo me encerraré en el Corazón misericordioso de Jesús. Callaré mis propios sufrimientos. Que tu misericordia descanse en mí, Señor mío.
     Tú me ordenas que me ejercite en los tres grados de la misericordia; el primero, el acto misericordioso, cualquiera que sea; el segundo, la palabra misericordiosa –si no puedo ayudar con actos, ayudaré con la palabra; el tercero, la oración. Si no puedo ser testimonio de la misericordia ni con actos ni con palabras, siempre podré hacerlo con la oración. Envío mi oración incluso allá donde no puedo ir físicamente.
     Oh Jesús mío, transfórmame en ti, tú que todo lo puedes. 

jueves 12 Agosto 2010 Santa Juana Francisca Chantal Santa Juana Francisca Chantal Esta santa fue la más activa colaboradora de San Francisco de Sales en la fundación de la comunidad de las Hermanas de la Visitación. Nació en Dijon, Francia, en 1572. Era hija del Presidente del Parlamento de esa región, el Sr. Fremiot, hombre muy distinguido y apreciado. Su santa madre murió cuando la niña tenía apenas 18 meses, y toda la educación de la futura santa en sus primeros años corrió por cuenta de su padre, el cual supo encaminarla hacia la consecución de una gran personalidad. En 1592, al cumplir Juana sus 20 años, se casó con el Barón de Chantal, un aguerrido militar que poseía un castillo cerca al de la familia de la joven. En adelante ella se llamará la Señora Fermiot de Chantal. Su matrimonio transcurrió felizmente por nueve años, y tuvieron un hijo y tres hijas. Pero en 1601 el esposo salió de cacería y a uno de sus compañeros se le disparó el arma y lo hirió mortalmente. Ya moribundo el Sr. Chantal hizo jurar a Juana que no tomaría ninguna venganza contra el que lo había herido, y murió santamente. Ella quedaba viuda de sólo 29 años y con cuatro hijos pequeños. Fue después madrina de los hijos del que había matado a su marido, y para demostrar que sí perdonaba totalmente, ayudó siempre a esa familia. Por dos años le pidió a Nuestro Señor la gracia de encontrar un director espiritual que la encaminara hacia la santidad. Y una vez en sueños vio a un sacerdote alto y venerable, y oyó una voz que le decía: «Ese es». - Ella no lo había visto nunca antes. En el año 1604 San Francisco de Sales fue a la ciudad de Dijon a predicar la Cuaresma, y Juana asistió a sus sermones, y tan pronto lo vio la primera vez, se dio cuenta de que este era el sacerdote que le había sido indicado en el sueño. Por su parte San Francisco fijó su atención en una señora de riguroso luto que le atendía muy esmeradamente su sermón y al terminar la predicación le preguntó al Sr. Arzobispo quién era la tal señora.- «Es mi hermana - le dijo el prelado - y mañana se la presento». Al día siguiente llevó a su hermana Juana a visitar a Monseñor de Sales.- San Francisco de Sales había preparado con muchos años de oración y de meditación la fundación de una nueva comunidad de religiosas. Las llamó Hermanas de la Visitación de la Sma. Virgen. El santo obispo encontró en Juana Francisca la mujer ideal para que le dirigiera su comunidad de mujeres. Así que en 1610, los dos santos emprendieron la fundación de esta nueva Congregación que tantos triunfos religiosos le iba a proporcionar a la Iglesia Católica. Esta comunidad tenía la especialidad de que recibía personas aun con graves defectos, y muy pobres, con tal de que tuvieran un fuerte deseo de llegar a la santidad. San Francisco repetía que cada casa religiosa es un hospital de almas a donde acuden quienes tienen el alma enferma, pero desean conseguir su curación espiritual. Para ellas y para las demás mujeres que desearan llegar a la santidad por medios fáciles y sencillos, compuso San Francisco tres libros formidables que han hecho inmenso bien en todo el mundo «La Práctica del amor de Dios» (el preferido por Santa Juana), que la llevó a ella a un altísimo grado de amor hacia nuestro Señor. «Las conversaciones Espirituales» (que son las charlas que el santo les hacía a las religiosas cuando iba a visitarlas y que la Madre Chantal y sus compañeras fueron copiando cuidadosamente) y El arte de aprovechar nuestras faltas que no fue redactado como libro por el santo, sino que ha sido extractado de los centenares de cartas que el escribió a las personas a las cuales proporcionaba dirección espiritual por correspondencia. Estos escritos sumados a su libro más famoso «La introducción a la Vida Devota» ( muy recomendado por su Santidad Juan Pablo II ), llevaron a la Madre Chantal y a sus compañeras a un altísimo grado de espiritualidad.- Cuando San Francisco de Sales murió, se encargó de la dirección espiritual de Juana y de sus religiosas, San Vicente de Paúl, y este santo dejó de ella el siguiente retrato espiritual: «Era una mujer de gran fe y sin embargo tuvo tentaciones contra la fe toda su vida. Aparentemente había alcanzado la paz y la tranquilidad del espíritu, pero en su interior sufría terribles pruebas, tentaciones abominables y una sequedad espiritual que la hacía sufrir mucho. La vista de su propia alma la atormentaba. Pero en medio de tan grandes sufrimientos jamás perdió la serenidad y el buen genio, y todo lo hacía por amor a Dios y por la salvación de las almas. Por eso la considero como una de las almas más santas que haya habido sobre la tierra». Magnífico elogio hecho por un gran santo, acerca de una santa admirable. En 1641 había visitado ya uno por uno los 65 conventos que su comunidad tenía en varios países. Tenía 69 años. Le había dicho a Nuestro Señor: «Puedes destruir y cortar y quemar todo lo que en mí y en mi vida te parezca que es necesario sacrificar para cooperar a la extensión de tu reino». Y Dios le había aceptado su generoso ofrecimiento. Extenuada y falta de fuerzas a causa de tanto trabajar y sacrificarse por la salvación de las almas, expiró santamente el 13 de diciembre de ese mismo año, 1641. El Papa la declaró santa en 1767.- Que Santa Juana nos consiga de Dios la gracia de dedicar totalmente nuestra vida y nuestras fuerzas y capacidades a propagar el Reino de Dios y a conseguir la salvación de muchas almas. Oremos Concédenos Señor, un conocimiento profundo y un amor intenso a tu santo nombre, semejantes a los que diste a Santa Juana Chantal, para que así, sirviéndote con sinceridad y lealtad, a ejemplo suyo también nosotros te agrademos con nuestra fe y con nuestras obras. Por nuestro Señor Jesucristo, tu hijo. Padre, que iluminaste a Santa Juana Francisca para que peregrinara en este mundo por caminos de luz y santidad:; concédenos, por su intercesión, que viviendo fielmente nuestra vocación, tendamos constantemente a las obras de la luz. Por nuestro Señor Jesucristo, tu Hijo, que contigo vive y reina en la unidad del Espíritu Santo y es Dios. Por los siglos de los siglos.

"Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them"

DAILY GOSPEL: 11/08/2010

«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68

Wednesday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Ezekiel 9:1-7.10:18-22.
Then he cried loud for me to hear: Come, you scourges of the city!
With that I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate which faces the north, each with a destroying weapon in his hand. In their midst was a man dressed in linen, with a writer's case at his waist. They entered and stood beside the bronze altar.
Then he called to the man dressed in linen with the writer's case at his waist,
saying to him: Pass through the city (through Jerusalem) and mark an X on the foreheads of those who moan and groan over all the abominations that are practiced within it.
To the others I heard him say: Pass through the city after him and strike! Do not look on them with pity nor show any mercy!
Old men, youths and maidens, women and children--wipe them out! But do not touch any marked with the X; begin at my sanctuary. So they began with the men (the elders) who were in front of the temple.
Defile the temple, he said to them, and fill the courts with the slain; then go out and strike in the city.
Then the glory of the LORD left the threshold of the temple and rested upon the cherubim.
These lifted their wings, and I saw them rise from the earth, the wheels rising along with them. They stood at the entrance of the eastern gate of the LORD'S house, and the glory of the God of Israel was up above them.
these were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar, whom I now recognized to be cherubim.
Each ohad four faces and four wings; something like human hands were under their wings.
Their faces looked just like those I had seen by the river Chebar; each one went straight forward.

Psalms 113(112):1-2.3-4.5-6.
Hallelujah! Praise, you servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD both now and forever.
From the rising of the sun to its setting let the name of the LORD be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD; above the heavens God's glory.
Who is like the LORD, our God enthroned on high,
looking down on heaven and earth?

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 18:15-20.
If your brother sins (against you), go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that 'every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.'
If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Mt 18,15-20

Commentary of the day 
Tertullian (c.155-220), theologian
On Repentance, 10 (c.f. trans. The Ante-Nicene Fathers)

"Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them"

       Among brethren and fellow servants, where there is common hope, fear, joy, grief, suffering, (because there is a common Spirit from a common Lord and Father), why do you think the others to be anything different from yourself? Why flee from those who have known the same falls as if from people who would cheer on your own? The body cannot feel glad at the trouble of any one member; it must necessarily grieve as a whole and work towards their healing as a whole.

       There where two of the faithful are together is the Church, but the Church is Christ. Therefore when you cling to the knees of your brethren, it is Christ you touch and Christ you entreat. Similarly, when the brethren shed tears over you, it is Christ who suffers, Christ who begs for mercy from the Father. And what a Son asks is ever speedily obtained.

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Wednesday, 11 August 2010

St. Clare, Virgin (1194-1253)

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SAINT CLARE
Virgin
(1194-1253)

        On Palm Sunday, March 17, 1212, the Bishop of Assisi left the altar to present a palm to a noble maiden, eighteen years of age, whom bashfulness had detained in her place. This maiden was St. Clare. Already she had learnt from St. Francis to hate the world, and was secretly resolved to live for God alone. The same night she escaped, with one companion, to the Church of the Portiuncula, where she was met by St. Francis and his brethren. At the altar of Our Lady, St. Francis cut off her hair, clothed her in his habit of penance, a piece of sack-cloth, with his cord as a girdle. Thus she was espoused to Christ.
        In a miserable house outside Assisi she founded her Order, and was joined by her sister, fourteen years of age, and afterwards by her mother and other noble ladies. They went barefoot, observed perpetual abstinence, constant silence, and perfect poverty.
        While the Saracen army of Frederick II. was ravaging the valley of Spoleto, a body of infidels advanced to assault St. Clare's convent, which stood outside Assisi. The Saint caused the Blessed Sacrament to be placed in a monstrance, above the gate of the monastery facing the enemy, and kneeling before it, prayed, "Deliver not to beasts, O Lord, the souls of those who confess to Thee." A voice from the Host replied, "My protection will never fail you." A sudden panic seized the infidel host, which took to flight, and the Saint's convent was spared. During her illness of twenty-eight years the Holy Eucharist was her only support and spinning linen for the altar the one work of her hands.
        She died in 1253, as the Passion was being read, and Our Lady and the angels conducted her to glory.

«Donde dos o tres están reunidos en mi nombre, allí estoy yo en medio de ellos»

EVANGELIO DEL DÍA: 11/08/2010

¿ Señor, a quién iremos?. Tú tienes palabras de vida eterna. Jn 6, 68

Miércoles de la XIX Semana del Tiempo Ordinario

Libro de Ezequiel 9,1-7.10,18-22.
El gritó fuertemente a mis oídos: "Acérquense, Castigos de la ciudad, cada uno con su instrumento de exterminio en la mano".
Entonces llegaron seis hombres del lado de la puerta superior que mira hacia el norte, cada uno con su instrumento de destrucción en la mano. En medio de ellos había un hombre vestido de lino, con la cartera de escriba en la cintura. Todos entraron y se detuvieron delante del altar de bronce.
La gloria del Dios de Israel se levantó de encima de los querubines sobre los cuales estaba, se dirigió hacia el umbral de la Casa, y llamó al hombre vestido de lino que tenía la cartera de escriba en la cintura.
El Señor le dijo: "Recorre toda la ciudad de Jerusalén y marca con una T la frente de los hombres que gimen y se lamentan por todas las abominaciones que se cometen en medio de ella".
Luego oí que les decía a los otros: "Recorran la ciudad detrás de él, hieran sin una mirada de piedad y sin tener compasión.
Maten y exterminen a todos, ancianos, jóvenes, niños y mujeres, pero no se acerquen a ninguno que esté marcado con la T. Comiencen por mi Santuario". Y comenzaron por los ancianos que estaban delante de la Casa.
Después dijo: "Contaminen la Casa y llenen de víctimas los atrios; luego salgan y golpeen en la ciudad".
La gloria del Señor salió de encima del umbral de la Casa y se detuvo sobre los querubines.
Al salir, los querubines desplegaron sus alas y se elevaron del suelo, ante mis propios ojos, y las ruedas lo hicieron al mismo tiempo. Ellos se detuvieron a la entrada de la puerta oriental de la Casa de Señor, y la gloria del Dios de Israel estaba sobre ellos, en lo alto.
Eran los seres vivientes que yo había visto debajo del Dios de Israel a orillas del río Quebar, y reconocí que eran querubines.
Cada uno tenía cuatro rostros y cuatro alas, y una especie de manos de hombre debajo de sus alas.
En cuanto a la forma de sus rostros, era la misma que yo había visto en una visión a orillas del río Quebar. Cada uno avanzaba derecho hacia adelante.

Salmo 113(112),1-2.3-4.5-6.
¡Aleluya! Alaben, servidores del Señor, alaben el nombre del Señor.
Bendito sea el nombre del Señor, desde ahora y para siempre.
Desde la salida del sol hasta su ocaso, sea alabado el nombre del Señor.
El Señor está sobre todas las naciones, su gloria se eleva sobre el cielo.
¿Quién es como el Señor, nuestro Dios, que tiene su morada en las alturas,
y se inclina para contemplar el cielo y la tierra?

Evangelio según San Mateo 18,15-20.
Si tu hermano peca, ve y corrígelo en privado. Si te escucha, habrás ganado a tu hermano.
Si no te escucha, busca una o dos personas más, para que el asunto se decida por la declaración de dos o tres testigos.
Si se niega a hacerles caso, dilo a la comunidad. Y si tampoco quiere escuchar a la comunidad, considéralo como pagano o publicano.
Les aseguro que todo lo que ustedes aten en la tierra, quedará atado en el cielo, y lo que desaten en la tierra, quedará desatado en el cielo.
También les aseguro que si dos de ustedes se unen en la tierra para pedir algo, mi Padre que está en el cielo se lo concederá.
Porque donde hay dos o tres reunidos en mi Nombre, yo estoy presente en medio de ellos". 

Mt 18,15-20

Leer el comentario del Evangelio por 
Tertuliano (hacia 155-hacia 220), teólogo
La Penitencia, 10

«Donde dos o tres están reunidos en mi nombre, allí estoy yo en medio de ellos»

     ¿Por qué crees que son diferentes de ti los que viven como hermanos, son servidores de un mismo señor, y todo lo tienen en común, la esperanza, el temor, el gozo, la pena, el sufrimiento (puesto que tienen una sola alma venida del mismo Señor y del mismo Padre)? ¿Por qué dudas de los que han tenido las mismas caídas que tú, como si tuvieran que alegrarse de tus caídas? El cuerpo no puede alegrase del mal que sufre uno de sus miembros; es preciso que todo él se duela y trabaje para curarse.

     Allí donde dos fieles están unidos, allí está la Iglesia, pero la Iglesia es Cristo. Así pues, cuando tú abrazas las rodillas de tus hermanos, tocas a Cristo, y es a Cristo a quien suplicas. Y cuando los hermanos, por su parte, derraman lágrimas por ti, es Cristo quien sufre, es Cristo quien pide al Padre. Lo que el Hijo pide pronto está concedido. 

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miércoles 11 Agosto 2010

Santa Clara de Asís

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Santa Clara de Asís

Nació en Asís, Italia, en 1193. Su conversión hacia la vida de plena santidad se efectuó al oír un sermón de San Francisco de Asís. Cuando ella tenía 18 años San Francisco predicó en Asís los sermones de cuaresma y allí insistió en que para tener plena libertad para seguir a Jesucristo hay que librarse de las riquezas y bienes materiales.

En secreto se fue a buscar al santo para pedirle que la instruyera en el modo de lograr conseguir la perfección cristiana. El le dijo que había que desprenderse de todo, la animó a dejar la vida de riquezas y comodidades que llevaba y dedicarse a una vida pobre, de oración y penitencia.   San Francisco hizo que Clara se fuera a vivir junto a la Iglesia de San Damián en Asís, en una pobre y humilde casita. Y he aquí que su hermana Inés y su propia madre decidieron irse también de monjas con ella. Y muchas muchachas más se dejaron atraer por esa vida de oración y recogimiento, y así pronto el convento estaba lleno de mujeres dedicadas a la santidad.

Francisco nombró a Clara como superiora de la comunidad, y aunque ella toda la vida trató de renunciara al puesto de superiora y dedicarse a ser una sencilla monjita de segundo orden, sin embargo por cuarenta años será la priora del convento y las monjitas no aceptarán a ninguna otra en su reemplazo mientras ella viva, y es que su modo de ejercer la autoridad era muy agradable y lleno de caridad. Servía la mesa, lavaba los platos, atendía a las enfermas, y con todas era como una verdadera mamacita llena de compresión y misericordia.

A los pocos años ya había conventos de Clarisas en Italia, Francia, Alemania y Checoslovaquia. Y estas monjitas hacían unas penitencias muy especiales, inspiradas en el ejemplo de su santa fundadora que era la primera en dedicarse a la penitencia.    No usaban medias, ni calzado, se abstenían perpetuamente de carne, y sólo hablaban si las obligaba a ello alguna necesidad grave o la caridad. La fundadora les recomendaba el silencio como remedio para evitar innumerables pecados de lengua y conservarse en unión con Dios, y alejarse de dañosas distracciones del mundo, pues si no hay silencio, la mundanalidad se introduce inevitablemente en el convento.

Siguiendo las enseñanzas y ejemplos de su maestro San Francisco, quiso Santa Clara que sus conventos no tuvieran riquezas ni rentas de ninguna clase. Y aunque muchas veces le ofrecieran regalos de bienes para asegurar el futuro de sus religiosas, no los quiso aceptar.   Al Sumo Pontífice que le ofrecía unas rentas para su convento le escribió: "Santo Padre: le suplico que no me absuelva ni me libre de la obligación que tengo de ser pobre como lo fue Jesucristo". A quienes le decían que había que pensar en el futuro, les respondía con aquellas palabras de Jesús: "Mi padre celestial que alimenta a las avecillas del campo, nos sabrá alimentar también a nosotros".

Hoy las religiosas Clarisas son 18,000 en 1,248 conventos en el mundo.   27 años estuvo enferma nuestra santa, pero su enfermedad la soportaba con paciencia heroica.   En su lecho bordaba y hacía costuras, y oraba sin cesar. El Sumo Pontífice la visitó dos veces y exclamó: "Ojalá yo tuviera tan poquita necesidad de ser perdonado, como la que tiene esta santa monjita". Cardenales y obispos iban a visitarla y a pedirle sus consejos.

San Francisco ya había muerto, y tres de los discípulos preferidos del santo, Fray Junípero, Fray Angel y Fray León, le leyeron a Clara la Pasión de Jesús mientras ella agonizaba.    La santa repetía: "Desde que me dedique a pensar y meditar en la Pasión y Muerte de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, ya los dolores y sufrimientos no me desaniman sino que me consuelan".

El 10 de agosto del año 1253 a los 60 años de edad y 41 años de ser religiosa, se fue al cielo a recibir su premio. Un día como hoy fue sepultada. Santa Clara bendita: no dejes nunca de rogar a Dios por nosotros.

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Oremos

Himno

Nada posee Clara,

Nada le pertenece;

Como lirio del huerto

Libre respira y crece.

Nada toma en su mano

Nada de aquí fenece;

Pobre, en la cruz se abraza

Con Cristo que padece.

Nada de lo que fluye

Su párpado estremece;

Clara mira y escucha

Al Verbo que acontece. Amén

Señor, Dios nuestro, que concediste a Santa Clara un gran amor por la pobreza evangélica, concédenos por su intercesión, seguir a Cristo en la pobreza del espíritu y llegar a contemplarte en tu glorioso reino. Por nuestro Señor Jesucristo, tu Hijo.    Vísperas  

  Himno

Clara, virgen amable,

Esposa enamorada,

Dulce nos es tu nombre,

Muy suave tu fragancia.

El gozo de la cruz

Danos, benigna hermana;

Danos tu amor castísimo

Y la pobreza santa.

Gloria al Hijo doliente

En la cruz levantada;

Gloria a Jesús excelso

En la paz de la patria. Amén

Set free by the Son of Man who was handed over into the hands of men

DAILY GOSPEL: 09/08/2010

«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68

Monday of the Nineteenth week in Ordinary Time

Book of Ezekiel 1:2-5.24-28.
On the fifth day of the month, the fifth year, that is, of King Jehoiachin's exile,
the word of the LORD came to the priest Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar.--There the hand of the LORD came upon me.
As I looked, a stormwind came from the North, a huge cloud with flashing fire (enveloped in brightness), from the midst of which (the midst of the fire) something gleamed like electrum.
Within it were figures resembling four living creatures that looked like this: their form was human,
Then I heard the sound of their wings, like the roaring of mighty waters, like the voice of the Almighty. When they moved, the sound of the tumult was like the din of an army. (And when they stood still, they lowered their wings.)
Above the firmament over their heads something like a throne could be seen, looking like sapphire. Upon it was seated, up above, one who had the appearance of a man.
Upward from what resembled his waist I saw what gleamed like electrum; downward from what resembled his waist I saw what looked like fire; he was surrounded with splendor.
Like the bow which appears in the clouds on a rainy day was the splendor that surrounded him. Such was the vision of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I had seen it, I fell upon my face and heard a voice that said to me:

Psalms 148(147):1-2.11-12.13.14.
Hallelujah! Praise the LORD from the heavens; give praise in the heights.
Praise him, all you angels; give praise, all you hosts.
You kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all who govern on earth;
Young men and women too, old and young alike.
Let them all praise the LORD'S name, for his name alone is exalted, majestic above earth and heaven.
The LORD has lifted high the horn of his people; to the glory of all the faithful, of Israel, the people near to their God. Hallelujah!

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 17:22-27.
As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men,
and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." And they were overwhelmed with grief.
When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"
Yes, he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, "What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?"
When he said, "From foreigners," Jesus said to him, "Then the subjects are exempt.
But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you."

Mt 17,22-27

Commentary of the day 
Saint Pacian of Barcelona (?-c.390), Bishop
Homily on Baptism, 7

Set free by the Son of Man who was handed over into the hands of men

All peoples have been set free from the powers that held them captive by our Lord Jesus Christ. He it is – yes, he! – who has redeemed us. As the apostle Paul says: «Having forgiven all our transgressions, obliterating the bond against us, nailing it to the cross, he despoiled the principalities and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, leading them away in triumph,» (Col 2,13-15). He has set the captives free and broken our bonds, as David said: «The Lord secures justice for the oppressed; the Lord sets captives free; the Lord gives sight to the blind.» And again: «You have loosed my bonds; to you I will offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,» (Pss. 146[145],7-8; 116[115].16-17).

Yes, we have been released from our bonds, those of us who have been brought together at the Lord's call by the sacrament of baptism...; we have been set free by the blood of Christ and the invocation of his name... And so, my beloved, we were washed by the waters of baptism once for all; once for all we were set free; once for all we were welcomed into the undying Kingdom. Once for all, «Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered,» (Ps32[31].1; Rom 4,7). Bravely hold fast to what you have received; keep it to your own happiness; sin no more. From henceforth, keep yourselves pure and without fault for the day of the Lord.

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Monday, 09 August 2010

St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), co-patron of Europe (1891-1942)

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Teresa Benedict of the Cross Edith Stein
Nun, Discalced Carmelite, martyr
Co-patron of Europe
(1891-1942) 

"We bow down before the testimony of the life and death of Edith Stein, an outstanding daughter of Israel and at the same time a daughter of the Carmelite Order, Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, a personality who united within her rich life a dramatic synthesis of our century. It was the synthesis of a history full of deep wounds that are still hurting ... and also the synthesis of the full truth about man. All this came together in a single heart that remained restless and unfulfilled until it finally found rest in God."
These were the words of Pope John Paul II when he beatified Edith Stein in Cologne on 1 May 1987.

Who was this woman?

        Edith Stein was born in Breslau on 12 October 1891, the youngest of 11, as her family were celebrating Yom Kippur, that most important Jewish festival, the Feast of Atonement. "More than anything else, this helped make the youngest child very precious to her mother." Being born on this day was like a foreshadowing to Edith, a future Carmelite nun.

        Edith's father, who ran a timber business, died when she had only just turned two. Her mother, a very devout, hard-working, strong-willed and truly wonderful woman, now had to fend for herself and to look after the family and their large business. However, she did not succeed in keeping up a living faith in her children. Edith lost her faith in God. "I consciously decided, of my own volition, to give up praying," she said.

        In 1911 she passed her school-leaving exam with flying colours and enrolled at the University of Breslau to study German and history, though this was a mere "bread-and-butter" choice. Her real interest was in philosophy and in women's issues. She became a member of the Prussian Society for Women's Franchise. "When I was at school and during my first years at university," she wrote later, "I was a radical suffragette. Then I lost interest in the whole issue. Now I am looking for purely pragmatic solutions."

        In 1913, Edith Stein transferred to Göttingen University, to study under the mentorship of Edmund Husserl. She became his pupil and teaching assistant, and he later tutored her for a doctorate. At the time, anyone who was interested in philosophy was fascinated by Husserl's new view of reality, whereby the world as we perceive it does not merely exist in a Kantian way, in our subjective perception. His pupils saw his philosophy as a return to objects: "back to things". Husserl's phenomenology unwittingly led many of his pupils to the Christian faith. In Göttingen Edith Stein also met the philosopher Max Scheler, who directed her attention to Roman Catholicism. Nevertheless, she did not neglect her "bread-and-butter" studies and passed her degree with distinction in January 1915, though she did not follow it up with teacher training.

        "I no longer have a life of my own," she wrote at the beginning of the First World War, having done a nursing course and gone to serve in an Austrian field hospital. This was a hard time for her, during which she looked after the sick in the typhus ward, worked in an operating theatre, and saw young people die. When the hospital was dissolved, in 1916, she followed Husserl as his assistant to the German city of Freiburg, where she passed her doctorate summa cum laude (with the utmost distinction) in 1917, after writing a thesis on "The Problem of Empathy."

        During this period she went to Frankfurt Cathedral and saw a woman with a shopping basket going in to kneel for a brief prayer. "This was something totally new to me. In the synagogues and Protestant churches I had visited people simply went to the services. Here, however, I saw someone coming straight from the busy marketplace into this empty church, as if she was going to have an intimate conversation. It was something I never forgot. "Towards the end of her dissertation she wrote: "There have been people who believed that a sudden change had occurred within them and that this was a result of God's grace." How could she come to such a conclusion? Edith Stein had been good friends with Husserl's Göttingen assistant, Adolf Reinach, and his wife.

        When Reinach fell in Flanders in November 1917, Edith went to Göttingen to visit his widow. The Reinachs had converted to Protestantism. Edith felt uneasy about meeting the young widow at first, but was surprised when she actually met with a woman of faith. "This was my first encounter with the Cross and the divine power it imparts to those who bear it ... it was the moment when my unbelief collapsed and Christ began to shine his light on me - Christ in the mystery of the Cross."

         Later, she wrote: "Things were in God's plan which I had not planned at all. I am coming to the living  faith and conviction that - from God's point of view - there is no chance and that the whole of my life, down to every detail, has been mapped out in God's divine providence and makes complete and perfect sense in God's all-seeing eyes."

        In Autumn 1918 Edith Stein gave up her job as Husserl's teaching assistant. She wanted to work independently. It was not until 1930 that she saw Husserl again after her conversion, and she shared with him about her faith, as she would have liked him to become a Christian, too. Then she wrote down the amazing words: "Every time I feel my powerlessness and inability to influence people directly, I become more keenly aware of the necessity of my own holocaust."

        Edith Stein wanted to obtain a professorship, a goal that was impossible for a woman at the time. Husserl wrote the following reference: "Should academic careers be opened up to ladies, then I can recommend her whole-heartedly and as my first choice for admission to a professorship." Later, she was refused a professorship on account of her Jewishness.

        Back in Breslau, Edith Stein began to write articles about the philosophical foundation of psychology. However, she also read the New Testament, Kierkegaard and Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises. She felt that one could not just read a book like that, but had to put it into practice.

        In the summer of 1921. she spent several weeks in Bergzabern (in the Palatinate) on the country estate of Hedwig Conrad-Martius, another pupil of Husserl's. Hedwig had converted to Protestantism with her husband. One evening Edith picked up an autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila and read this book all night. "When I had finished the book, I said to myself: This is the truth." Later, looking back on her life, she wrote: "My longing for truth was a single prayer."

        On 1 January 1922 Edith Stein was baptized. It was the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus, when Jesus entered into the covenant of Abraham. Edith Stein stood by the baptismal font, wearing Hedwig Conrad-Martius' white wedding cloak. Hedwig washer godmother. "I had given up practising my Jewish religion when I was a 14-year-old girl and did not begin to feel Jewish again until I had returned to God." From this moment on she was continually aware that she belonged to Christ not only spiritually, but also through her blood. At the Feast of the Purification of Mary - another day with an Old Testament reference - she was confirmed by the Bishop of Speyer in his private chapel.

         After her conversion she went straight to Breslau: "Mother," she said, "I am a Catholic." The two women cried. Hedwig Conrad Martius wrote: "Behold, two Israelites indeed, in whom is no deceit!" (cf. John 1:47).

        Immediately after her conversion she wanted to join a Carmelite convent. However, her spiritual mentors, Vicar-General Schwind of Speyer, and Erich Przywara SJ, stopped her from doing so. Until Easter 1931 she held a position teaching German and history at the Dominican Sisters' school and teacher training college of St. Magdalen's Convent in Speyer. At the same time she was encouraged by Arch-Abbot Raphael Walzer of Beuron Abbey to accept extensive speaking engagements, mainly on women's issues. "During the time immediately before and quite some time after my conversion I ... thought that leading a religious life meant giving up all earthly things and having one's mind fixed on divine things only. Gradually, however, I learnt that other things are expected of us in this world... I even believe that the deeper someone is drawn to God, the more he has to `get beyond himself' in this sense, that is, go into the world and carry divine life into it."

        She worked enormously hard, translating the letters and diaries of Cardinal Newman from his pre-Catholic period as well as Thomas Aquinas' Quaestiones Disputatae de Veritate. The latter was a very free translation, for the sake of dialogue with modern philosophy. Erich Przywara also encouraged her to write her own philosophical works. She learnt that it was possible to "pursue scholarship as a service to God... It was not until I had understood this that I seriously began to approach academic work again." To gain strength for her life and work, she frequently went to the Benedictine Monastery of Beuron, to celebrate the great festivals of the Church year.

        In 1931 Edith Stein left the convent school in Speyer and devoted herself to working for a professorship again, this time in Breslau and Freiburg, though her endeavours were in vain. It was then that she wrote Potency and Act, a study of the central concepts developed by Thomas Aquinas. Later, at the Carmelite Convent in Cologne, she rewrote this study to produce her main philosophical and theological oeuvre, Finite and Eternal Being. By then, however, it was no longer possible to print the book.

        In 1932 she accepted a lectureship position at the Roman Catholic division of the German Institute for Educational Studies at the University of Munster, where she developed her anthropology. She successfully combined scholarship and faith in her work and her teaching, seeking to be a "tool of the Lord" in everything she taught. "If anyone comes to me, I want to lead them to Him."

        In 1933 darkness broke out over Germany. "I had heard of severe measures against Jews before. But now it dawned on me that God had laid his hand heavily on His people, and that the destiny of these people would also be mine." The Aryan Law of the Nazis made it impossible for Edith Stein to continue teaching. "If I can't go on here, then there are no longer any opportunities for me in Germany," she wrote; "I had become a stranger in the world."

        The Arch-Abbot of Beuron, Walzer, now no longer stopped her from entering a Carmelite convent. While in Speyer, she had already taken a vow of poverty, chastity and obedience. In 1933 she met with the prioress of the Carmelite Convent in Cologne. "Human activities cannot help us, but only the suffering of Christ. It is my desire to share in it."

         Edith Stein went to Breslau for the last time, to say good-bye to her mother and her family. Her last day at home was her birthday, 12 October, which was also the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Edith went to the synagogue with her mother. It was a hard day for the two women. "Why did you get to know it [Christianity]?" her mother asked, "I don't want to say anything against him. He may have been a very good person. But why did he make himself God?" Edith's mother cried. The following day Edith was on the train to Cologne. "I did not feel any passionate joy. What I had just experienced was too terrible. But I felt a profound peace - in the safe haven of God's will." From now on she wrote to her mother every week, though she never received any replies. Instead, her sister Rosa sent her news from Breslau.

        Edith joined the Carmelite Convent of Cologne on 14 October, and her investiture took place on 15 April, 1934. The mass was celebrated by the Arch-Abbot of Beuron. Edith Stein was now known as Sister Teresia Benedicta a Cruce - Teresa, Blessed of the Cross. In 1938 she wrote: "I understood the cross as the destiny of God's people, which was beginning to be apparent at the time (1933). I felt that those who understood the Cross of Christ should take it upon themselves on everybody's behalf. Of course, I know better now what it means to be wedded to the Lord in the sign of the cross. However, one can never comprehend it, because it is a mystery." On 21 April 1935 she took her temporary vows. On 14 September 1936, the renewal of her vows coincided with her mother's death in Breslau. "My mother held on to her faith to the last moment. But as her faith and her firm trust in her God ... were the last thing that was still alive in the throes of her death, I am confident that she will have met a very merciful judge and that she is now my most faithful helper, so that I can reach the goal as well."

        When she made her eternal profession on 21 April 1938, she had the words of St. John of the Cross printed on her devotional picture: "Henceforth my only vocation is to love." Her final work was to be devoted to this author.

        Edith Stein's entry into the Carmelite Order was not escapism. "Those who join the Carmelite Order are not lost to their near and dear ones, but have been won for them, because it is our vocation to intercede to God for everyone." In particular, she interceded to God for her people: "I keep thinking of Queen Esther who was taken away from her people precisely because God wanted her to plead with the king on behalf of her nation. I am a very poor and powerless little Esther, but the King who has chosen me is infinitely great and merciful. This is great comfort." (31 October 1938)

        On 9 November 1938 the anti-Semitism of the Nazis became apparent to the whole world.

        Synagogues were burnt, and the Jewish people were subjected to terror. The prioress of the Carmelite Convent in Cologne did her utmost to take Sister Teresia Benedicta a Cruce abroad. On New Year's Eve 1938 she was smuggled across the border into the Netherlands, to the Carmelite Convent in Echt in the Province of Limburg. This is where she wrote her will on 9 June 1939: "Even now I accept the death that God has prepared for me in complete submission and with joy as being his most holy will for me. I ask the Lord to accept my life and my death ... so that the Lord will be accepted by His people and that His Kingdom may come in glory, for the salvation of Germany and the peace of the world."

        While in the Cologne convent, Edith Stein had been given permission to start her academic studies again. Among other things, she wrote about "The Life of a Jewish Family" (that is, her own family): "I simply want to report what I experienced as part of Jewish humanity," she said, pointing out that "we who grew up in Judaism have a duty to bear witness ... to the young generation who are brought up in racial hatred from early childhood."

        In Echt, Edith Stein hurriedly completed her study of "The Church's Teacher of Mysticism and the Father of the Carmelites, John of the Cross, on the Occasion of the 400th Anniversary of His Birth, 1542-1942." In 1941 she wrote to a friend, who was also a member of her order: "One can only gain a scientia crucis (knowledge of the cross) if one has thoroughly experienced the cross. I have been convinced of this from the first moment onwards and have said with all my heart: 'Ave, Crux, Spes unica' (I welcome you, Cross, our only hope)." Her study on St. John of the Cross is entitled: "Kreuzeswissenschaft" (The Science of the Cross).

        Edith Stein was arrested by the Gestapo on 2 August 1942, while she was in the chapel with the other sisters. She was to report within five minutes, together with her sister Rosa, who had also converted and was serving at the Echt Convent. Her last words to be heard in Echt were addressed to Rosa: "Come, we are going for our people."

        Together with many other Jewish Christians, the two women were taken to a transit camp in Amersfoort and then to Westerbork. This was an act of retaliation against the letter of protest written by the Dutch Roman Catholic Bishops against the pogroms and deportations of Jews. Edith commented, "I never knew that people could be like this, neither did I know that my brothers and sisters would have to suffer like this. ... I pray for them every hour. Will God hear my prayers? He will certainly hear them in their distress." Prof. Jan Nota, who was greatly attached to her, wrote later: "She is a witness to God's presence in a world where God is absent."
        On 7 August, early in the morning, 987 Jews were deported to Auschwitz. It was probably on 9 August that Sister Teresia Benedicta a Cruce, her sister and many other of her people were gassed.
When Edith Stein was beatified in Cologne on 1 May 1987, the Church honoured "a daughter of Israel", as Pope John Paul II put it, who, as a Catholic during Nazi persecution, remained faithful to the crucified Lord Jesus Christ and, as a Jew, to her people in loving faithfulness."

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