Readings
Reading I: Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13 |
Preaching TipProclaiming the Gospel is Primary
In 1982, the USCCB presented the document Fulfilled in Your Hearing. It takes its opening line from the Vatican II document Presbyterorum Ordinis. In its initial paragraph, there is a claim that at first perhaps doesn’t sound right. It involves the primary duty of priests. We may think it is to offer the sacrifice of the Mass, but it indicates something else:
"The primary duty of priests is the proclamation of the Gospel of God to all." These clear, straightforward words of the SeŃond Vatican Council (Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, #4) may still come as something of a surprise to us. We might more spontaneously think that the primary duty of priests is the celebration of the Church's sacraments, or the pastoral care of the People of God, or the leadership of a Christian community. Yet, the words of the document are clear: the proclamation of the Gospel is primary. The other duties of the priest are to be considered properly presbyteral to the degree that they support the proclamation of the Gospel.
The document Presbyterorum Ordinis gives us the reason for this statement:
4. The People of God are joined together primarily by the word of the living God. And rightfully they expect this from their priests. Since no one can be saved who does not first believe, priests, as co-workers with their bishops, have the primary duty of proclaiming the Gospel of God to all. In this way they fulfill the command of the Lord: "Going therefore into the whole world preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mk 16:15), and they establish and build up the People of God. Through the saving word the spark of faith is lit in the hearts of unbelievers, and fed in the hearts of the faithful. This is the way that the congregation of faithful is started and grows, just as the Apostle describes: "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Rom 10:17). |
A to 4 FELICES, PERO NO A LA MANERA DEL MUNDO
El primer discurso que predica Jesús deja a sus oyentes desconcertados. Por un lado les habla de la felicidad como el sueño que todos anhelan realizar, por otro les dice que no la podrán alcanzar con los medios que el mundo ofrece. La gente considera felices a los ricos, a los poderosos, a los famosos; en cambio Jesús les dice: "Felices los pobres, los que lloran, los perseguidos". El verdadero camino está formulado en las Bienaventuranzas.
Hermanas y hermanos:
1. La vida en la tierra es solamente temporal, sin embargo, algunos viven como si fueran a quedarse aquí eternamente y se olvidan de ser felices. Se cuenta que un turista visitó a un sabio egipcio y al ver la pobreza en que vivía le preguntó: ¿Dónde están tus muebles? Y el sabio rápidamente también preguntó: ¿Y dónde están los tuyos? ¿Los míos? - se sorprendió el turista- ¡Pero si yo estoy aquí solamente de paso! Yo también -concluyó el sabio-. La sabiduría humana nos recuerda que el valor de las cosas no está en el tiempo que duran, sino en la intensidad con que suceden.
2. La felicidad se mide por el espíritu con el cual nos enfrentamos a los problemas de la vida. La felicidad no depende de lo que pasa a nuestro alrededor sino de lo que pasa dentro de nosotros mismos. No consiste en hacer siempre lo que queramos pero sí en querer todo lo que hagamos. No es una posada en el camino, sino una forma de caminar por la vida. Las bienaventuranzas desmontan los falsos dioses: la idolatría del dinero, las esclavitudes de la carne, la tiranía de nuestro egoísmo que nos deja vacíos de felicidad. Basta mirar al mundo, está más lleno de cosas que nunca y está vacío. Los matrimonios están rotos y vacíos. Las familias tienen en su casa todo, pero les falta el Todo que es Dios.
3. Es en el amor y en el deseo de imitar a Jesús, donde se encuentra el manantial de la felicidad. Los que se hacen pobres y humildes, los cristianos, los misioneros o las madres de familia que renuncian a la comodidad por amor a Dios están llenos, porque Dios los hace felices. Dichosos los que en su parroquia mantienen el fervor porque nos contagiarán a todos con su amor. Dichosos los que tienen hambre y sed de santidad. Dichosas las almas que arden en deseos de que Cristo sea conocido y amado. De ellos es el Reino de los cielos.
No confundamos los medios con el fin. "El llanto, la pobreza y la persecución, dice San Juan de Ávila, son un medio para alcanzar a Dios y nos asemejan a Jesucristo". La verdadera felicidad está, pues, en poseer ya en esta vida el verdadero amor de Dios. Sólo así puede entenderse que los que viven de cara a Dios, gocen ya de un cielo en la tierra. Y eso es lo que hoy debemos pedirle al Señor en nuestra oración. Así sea.
A4 HAPPY, BUT NOT AS THE WORLD IS HAPPY
The first discourse preached by Jesus makes his listeners worried. On the one hand he speaks to them about happiness as the dream they are all looking to fulfill; on the other hand, he tells them they cannot achieve it using the means the world offers. People think the rich, the powerful and the famous are the happy ones; but Jesus tells them, "Blessed are the poor, those who weep, those who are persecuted." The true path to happiness is described to us in the Beatitudes.
Sisters and brothers,
1. Our life on earth is only temporary, yet some people live as if they were going to stay here forever, and they forget to be happy. There's a story about a tourist who once visited a wise man in Egypt, and when he saw the poor conditions he lived in, he asked him, "Where is all your furniture?" And the wise man then asked him, "And where is yours?" "Mine?" responded the tourist in surprise. "But I'm only here on a journey!" "Me too," answered the wise man. Human wisdom reminds us that the value of things is not in how long they last, but in their intensity.
2. Happiness is measured by the spirit in which we face our problems in life. Happiness doesn't depend on what happens around us, but what happens inside us. It doesn't consist of always doing whatever we love doing, but rather in loving whatever we do. It's not an inn to stop at on our journey, but rather a way to journey through life. The Beatitudes tear down the false gods of the idolatry of money, slavery of the flesh, tyranny of our egotism that leaves us devoid of happiness. Just look at the world: it has more things than ever before, yet it is empty. Marriages are breaking up and are empty. Families have it all in their homes, but they are missing their All, who is God.
3. The source of happiness is found in love and the desire to imitate Jesus. Those who are poor and humble, Christians, missionaries or mothers who deny their comforts for love of God have full lives because God makes them happy. Blessed are the ones who are full of fervor in their parish because they will encourage us all with their love. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for holiness. Blessed those souls that burn in their desire to make Christ known and loved. For theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us not confuse the means with the end. Saint John of Avila says, "Tears, poverty, persecution - these are all means to reach God and make us more like Christ." True happiness then is possessing in this life the true love of God. This is the only way to understand that those who live for God are already living their heaven on earth. This is the prayer we should ask of the Lord today. Amen.