L'Evangile dans ma vie/ The Gospel in my life

Jesus has two kinds of approach while dealing with the general public and the disciples who are around. For the general public Jesus uses images and parables. Whereas for the disciples, Jesus speaks with the explanation. Why this difference? Simply because, the disciples are those who are close to Him and approach Him with a question of clarification. Thus, there is no partiality, rather, Jesus responds to the need of the person and according to the mission entrusted to them. Just like Paul says, those whom He called, he consecrated them and blessed them with abundant  graces.

Today Jesus is using different parables to explain to them about the kingdom of God. The seed is the word of God and the terrain is our heart. It is here that God makes His WORD to grow and it is through us that these words give fruit to the society. Many of us have the anxiety to know how God works in us. Jesus seems to propose to us that it’s a mystery and we shouldn’t waste our time in it. All that is important in our life is, to observe the very little movements of these WORDS working in us. We need patience, because, just like a plant which takes its own time to sprout, to grow, to flower and produce the useful fruit, God has His own way of doing. All that is requested from us is to identify these visible signs to the world and give them the hope of life.

It is here that Jesus introduces the second parable of mustard seed. Once again let’s not give attention to the mustard seed and its different branches. All that is important here is it to observe, ‘little drops of water makes the ocean.’ Many great works begin with a simple act, gesture or a word, etc. We don’t know how it begins and how great it becomes. Jute like the former in the agriculture begins with a humble way, putting all the hope in the Lord, engaging all his energy, we too should learn to give ourselves fully and leave the rest to the Lord. If God wills, He will bring it to its logical conclusion.

Certainly our salvation history gives us ample example of this process of divine accomplishment. God did take care of the people of God. He continues to take care of us. Though His works are not always visible to our present time, if we make a sincere and genuine rereading of our personal life, we will certainly discover the miracles that the Lord has done to us. Many at time He transforms our blunders and failures, not as hurt and wounded person, rather a moment of grace and transformation. It is here that the Lord has formed us, in a furnace like events, to be what we are. Thus we can join with the psalmist of the day, in the praising and thanksgiving of the Lord, jute like Mary, by singing, ‘what a wonder that the Lord has done to me.

Though nicely said and narrated, in daily life situations, things don’t move, as we have willed or desired. Failures continue to embrace us and the disappointments follow us without cessing. It is in these troubled moments of life, we are called to listen to the second reading of the day, where Paul is giving hope to the early Christian community, in a distressed moment of persecution. Seeing the suffering and the pain of the people of God, He gives them the foundation of our faith; the cross and the resurrection. It is not the human accomplishment or mastering the situations. It’s simply a call to discover how God works in us and for us and learn to obey strictly His commandment of love.  This will help us to positively respond to the human needs, the need of the people of God. It is important, even in our difficult times, we are called to be just before God and try to please God, not human beings. Once our life is fully animated by this divine desire, we will certainly see on this earth the heavenly Kingdom that God has initiated in Jesus Christ, and continues to establishes, particularly through every baptised Christian.  Let’s not forget that the Kingdom of the God is here and now. Have a wonderful Sunday and God bless you all.

Texte de l'Évangile (Mt 5,33-37): «Vous avez encore appris qu'il a été dit aux anciens: Tu ne feras pas de faux serments, mais tu t'acquitteras de tes serments envers le Seigneur. Eh bien moi, je vous dis de ne faire aucun serment, ni par le ciel, car c'est le trône de Dieu, ni par la terre, car elle est son marchepied, ni par Jérusalem, car elle est la Cité du grand Roi. Et tu ne jureras pas non plus sur ta tête, parce que tu ne peux pas rendre un seul de tes cheveux blanc ou noir. Quand vous dites ‘oui’, que ce soit un ‘oui’, quand vous dites ‘non’, que ce soit un ‘non’. Tout ce qui est en plus vient du Mauvais».

«Quand vous dites ‘oui’, que ce soit un ‘oui’, quand vous dites ‘non’, que ce soit un ‘non’»

Abbé Jordi PASCUAL i Bancells 
(Salt, Girona, Espagne)

Gospel text

(Mt 5,27-32): 

Jesus said to his disciples: «You have heard that it was said: ‘Do not commit adultery’. But I tell you this: anyone who looks at a woman to lustfully has in fact already committed adultery with her in his heart. So, if your right eye causes you to sin, pull it out and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. 

»It was also said: ‘anyone who divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce’. But what I tell you is this: If a man divorces his wife except in the case of unlawful union, he causes her to commit adultery. And the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery».

The Application

Jesus doesn’t remove the rules and regulation of the society. All that He desires from us is to improve these elements to the divine perfection. Thus, we are called to go beyond of normal way of living and learn to act just like God, because we are children of God.

This normal human way of acting upon every moment of life, will be certainly accompanied by the divine grace. It is here that we discover the divine will and we will be fully engaged in accomplishing this will, because, it’s no more our human will, but the divine will which will orient us. Just like the prophet Elijah was accompanied in all moments of life, we too will be accompanied in our difficult moments of life.  

Once our life is fully taken by the Lord, even the rigid laws that we have will be a soft rope to hold on, because there will be nothing impossible for us. The perfection won’t be something to be desired, but will be cherished and lived.

«Anyone who looks at a woman to lustfully has in fact already committed adultery»

+ Fr. Josep LIÑÁN i Pla SchP 
(Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain)

Today, Jesus keeps digging deeper on the demands of the Sermon on the Mount. He does not abolish the Law; on the contrary, He brings the Law to its fullness; thus, the observance of the Law is not just supposed to be the simple fulfillment of some minimum conditions to put our house in order. God's Law of Love is given to us for us to reach the summit, but, somehow, we manage to transform it into the law of minimum effort. God is so exacting...! Yes, maybe, but He also has given us the maximum, for He has given Himself to us!

Today, Christ aims high and points out his authority over the sixth and ninth Commandments, those referring to our sexuality and to our purity of thought. Sexuality is our language to express love and alliance; consequently, we cannot trivialize it, nor can we use the other person as an object to selfishly gratify one's pleasure, not even in our thinking! Hence, Jesus' stern assertion: «Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has in fact already committed adultery with her in his heart» (Mt 5:28). We must, therefore, cut out the root of all evil and avoid those thoughts and occasions that would lead us to do what God does not want us to; this is what these words, that may look so radical and exaggerated to us, actually mean; yet, words, those who listened to Jesus, did understand in its expressivity: pull out, cut off, throw away...

Last, but not least, the dignity of the sacrament of matrimony must always be protected, as it is part of God's project regarding man and woman, who, through love and mutual deliverance, become one flesh; and, at the same time, it is sign and participation of Christ's covenant with the Church. A Christian cannot live the man-woman relationship, nor his conjugal life, dominated by the allurements this world: «Don't believe that because you are married you can keep a mundane life and let yourself go to a life of loafing and laziness; on the contrary, you must work more intently, and watch more carefully over your salvation» (St. Basil).

Texte de l'Évangile

(Mt 5,27-32):

 «Vous avez appris qu'il a été dit: ‘Tu ne commettras pas d'adultère’. Eh bien moi, je vous dis: Tout homme qui regarde une femme et la désire a déjà commis l'adultère avec elle dans son cœur. Si ton oeil droit entraîne ta chute, arrache-le et jette-le loin de toi: car c'est ton intérêt de perdre un de tes membres, et que ton corps tout entier ne soit pas jeté dans la géhenne. Et si ta main droite entraîne ta chute, coupe-la et jette-la loin de toi : car c'est ton intérêt de perdre un de tes membres, et que ton corps tout entier ne s'en aille pas dans la géhenne. 

»Il a été dit encore: ‘Si quelqu'un renvoie sa femme, qu'il lui donne un acte de répudiation’. Eh bien moi, je vous dis: Tout homme qui renvoie sa femme, sauf en cas d'union illégitime, la pousse à l'adultère; et si quelqu'un épouse une femme renvoyée, il est adultère».

L’Application

‘Vous avez appris’ va nous amener vers la perfection divine. Cette perfection est possible, si nous avons le courage d’enlever tout ce qui nous empêche de nous avancer vers le Seigneur, y compris tout ce qui est cher à nous.

Dans cette volonté humaine nous chercherons la volonté divine et Dieu nous dictera exactement quoi et comment, comme il  dictait à son prophète Elie.

«Tout homme qui regarde une femme et la désire a déjà commis l'adultère»

+ Abbé Josep LIÑÁN i Pla SchP 
(Sabadell, Barcelona, Espagne)

Aujourd'hui, Jésus continue à approfondir sur le thème des exigences du sermon des Béatitudes. Il n'abolit pas la loi, mais lui donne plus d'ampleur. C'est pour cette raison que son observation consiste à beaucoup plus que remplir certaines conditions minimes pour avoir nos papiers en règle. Dieu nous donne la loi de l'amour pour arriver au sommet, mais nous cherchons toujours le moyen de la changer en la loi du moindre effort. Dieu nous demande beaucoup…! Oui mais il nous a donné beaucoup plus, il s'est donné lui-même.

Aujourd'hui, Jésus vise très haut en manifestant son autorité sur le sixième et le neuvième commandement, les préceptes qui se référent à la sexualité et à la pureté de la pensée. La sexualité est le langage humain qui signifie amour et alliance, de ce fait, il ne peut pas être banalisé, nous ne pouvons pas non plus transformer les autres en objets de plaisir, même pas par la pensée! De là l'affirmation très sévère de Jésus: «Tout homme qui regarde une femme et la désire a déjà commis l'adultère avec elle dans son cœur» (Mt 5,28). Il est donc nécessaire de couper le mal à la racine et éviter les pensées et les occasions qui nous feraient faire ce que Dieu hait. Voilà ce que veulent dire ces paroles qui peuvent nous sembler radicales et exagérées, mais que ceux qui écoutaient Jésus comprenaient par leur expression: heurter, couper, jeter…

Finalement, la dignité du mariage doit être protégée pour toujours, car elle fait partie du projet de Dieu pour l'homme et pour la femme; afin que par l'amour et le don mutuel ils deviennent une seule chair, et en même temps c'est un signe et une participation à l'alliance du Christ et de l'Église. Le chrétien ne peut vivre la relation homme-femme ni la vie conjugale selon l'ordre du monde, saint Basile nous dit: «Il ne faut pas croire que parce que vous avez choisi la vie de couple, il vous est permis de continuer à vivre d'une façon mondaine en s'abandonnant à l'oisiveté et à la paresse, au contraire, cela même vous oblige à travailler d'avantage et à veiller plus attentivement sur votre salut».

Texte de l'Évangile (Mt 5,20-26): 

Je vous le dis en effet: «Si votre justice ne surpasse pas celle des scribes et des pharisiens, vous n'entrerez pas dans le Royaume des cieux. 

»Vous avez appris qu'il a été dit aux anciens: Tu ne commettras pas de meurtre, et si quelqu'un commet un meurtre, il en répondra au tribunal. Eh bien moi, je vous dis: Tout homme qui se met en colère contre son frère en répondra au tribunal. Si quelqu'un insulte son frère, il en répondra au grand conseil. Si quelqu'un maudit son frère, il sera passible de la géhenne de feu. 

»Donc, lorsque tu vas présenter ton offrande sur l'autel, si, là, tu te souviens que ton frère a quelque chose contre toi, laisse ton offrande là, devant l'autel, va d'abord te réconcilier avec ton frère, et ensuite viens présenter ton offrande. Accorde-toi vite avec ton adversaire pendant que tu es en chemin avec lui, pour éviter que ton adversaire ne te livre au juge, le juge au garde, et qu'on ne te jette en prison. Amen, je te le dis: tu n'en sortiras pas avant d'avoir payé jusqu'au dernier sou».

«Si votre justice ne surpasse pas celle des scribes et des pharisiens, vous n'entrerez pas dans le Royaume des cieux»

Abbé Julio César RAMOS González SDB 
(Mendoza, Argentine)

Texte de l'Évangile (Mt 5,17-19): 

«Ne pensez pas que je suis venu abolir la Loi ou les Prophètes: je ne suis pas venu abolir, mais accomplir. Amen, je vous le dis: Avant que le ciel et la terre disparaissent, pas une lettre, pas un seul petit trait ne disparaîtra de la Loi jusqu'à ce que tout se réalise. Donc, celui qui rejettera un seul de ces plus petits commandements, et qui enseignera aux hommes à faire ainsi, sera déclaré le plus petit dans le Royaume des cieux. Mais celui qui les observera et les enseignera sera déclaré grand dans le Royaume des cieux».

«Je ne suis pas venu abolir, mais accomplir»

Abbé Miquel MASATS i Roca 
(Girona, Espagne)

Texte de l'Évangile (Mt 5,13-16):*

 «Vous êtes le sel de la terre. Si le sel se dénature, comment redeviendra-t-il du sel? Il n'est plus bon à rien: on le jette dehors et les gens le piétinent. Vous êtes la lumière du monde. Une ville située sur une montagne ne peut être cachée. Et l'on n'allume pas une lampe pour la mettre sous le boisseau; on la met sur le lampadaire, et elle brille pour tous ceux qui sont dans la maison. De même, que votre lumière brille devant les hommes: alors en voyant ce que vous faites de bien, ils rendront gloire à votre Père qui est aux cieux».

«Vous êtes le sel de la terre (…). Vous êtes la lumière du monde»

Abbé Francesc PERARNAU i Cañellas 
(Girona, Espagne)

Gospel text

(Mt 5,1-12): 

When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up the mountain. He sat down and his disciples gathered around him. Then he spoke and began to teach them: «Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn, they shall be comforted. Fortunate are the gentle, they shall possess the land. Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy. Fortunate are those with a pure heart, for they shall see God. Fortunate are those who work for peace, they shall be called children of God. Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are my followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God. This is how this people persecuted the prophets who lived before you».

The Application

Yesterday we were having our bishop with us and had the pleasuring of listening to him. In one of our dialogue he was telling, that many of us think that the present church is living in a difficult time and the past was glorious. The truth is that the church was always persecuted and the in this church there were some exceptionally wonderful people who were witnessing the faith in an extraordinary way. What we live today is not desolation or desperation, rather what is called to live, particularly with hope and joy.

While remembering Barnabas, one of the apostles of the Lord, we remember their courage and joy of dying for Christ. Though they had a very tough time, there were essentially a happy people. People those who met them, even in their imprisonment, were recharged with new and forced energy. If we look behind the secret of this inner joy, we will find very easily that their life was fully configured in Christ and they felt even in their persecution, the Christ joyful and glorious. They remembered the Cross, but with hope of resurrection and the joy of being just before God.

Thus for us today, if we wish to be happy, the secret is, that we learn to configure our life in Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to guide and animate our life. By consequence, just like Paul, we too can say with certitude, it’s no more I who life, but the Christ lives in me. Have a wonderful day.

«Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit»

Fr. Àngel CALDAS i Bosch 
(Salt, Girona, Spain)

Today, with the proclamation of the Beatitudes, Jesus helps us realize how forgetful we can be and how we tend to be like children, who usually forget their memories because of their plays. Jesus feared that the amount of his “good news” —his words, his gestures, his silences— would be diluted amidst our sins and worries. In the parable of the sower, do you remember the image of the thorns that sprang up with his seeds, and choked them? Well, this is why St. Mathew run the Beatitudes as fundamental principles, so that we do not never ever forget them. They are a compendium of the New Law presented by Jesus, basic points which help us living a Christian life.

The Beatitudes are intended for everybody. The Master is not only teaching his disciples around him, nor does He exclude any kind of persons, but He delivers a Universal message. However, He emphasizes the disposition we must have and the moral behaviour He expects from us. While the definite salvation is not given in this world, but in the next, we must change, right now, while we are here, our mentality and our evaluation of things. It is necessary we get used to see the crying face of Christ, in those who mourn, in those poor of spirit, in the meek at heart, in those who yearn to become saints, in those who have taken a “determined determination”, as St. Therese of the Child Jesus liked to say, so that we can become Sowers of Peace and Joy.

The Beatitudes are the Lord's perfume participated in human history. But, also in yours and mine. The last two verses incorporate the presence of the Cross, as they invite us to rejoice when, because of him and of the Gospel, things go humanly wrong. For when the coherence of our Christian life is strong, we will then, most probably suffer persecution in a thousand different ways, amid unexpected difficulties and setbacks. St. Matthew's text is emphatic: so «Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God» (Mt 5,12).

Texte de l'Évangile

(Mt 5,1-12): 

Quand Jésus vit la foule, il gravit la montagne. Il s'assit, et ses disciples s'approchèrent. Alors, ouvrant la bouche, il se mit à les instruire. Il disait: «Heureux les pauvres de coeur: le Royaume des cieux est à eux! Heureux les doux: ils obtiendront la terre promise! Heureux ceux qui pleurent: ils seront consolés! Heureux ceux qui ont faim et soif de la justice: ils seront rassasiés! Heureux les miséricordieux: ils obtiendront miséricorde! Heureux les coeurs purs: ils verront Dieu! Heureux les artisans de paix: ils seront appelés fils de Dieu! Heureux ceux qui sont persécutés pour la justice: le Royaume des cieux est à eux! Heureux serez-vous si l'on vous insulte, si l'on vous persécute et si l'on dit faussement toute sorte de mal contre vous, à cause de moi. Réjouissez-vous, soyez dans l'allégresse, car votre récompense sera grande dans les cieux! C'est ainsi qu'on a persécuté les prophètes qui vous ont précédés».

L’Application

Aujourd’hui l’Eglise fait mémoire de saint Barnabé. Les premiers disciples du Seigneur sont accompagnés par l’Esprit Saint. Par tout, ils ont dit tout ce qu’ils ont entendu et vu. Leur vie personnelle aussi rendait témoignage à tout ce dont ils vivaient intérieurement. C’est cette vie intérieure animée par l’Esprit Saint leur a donné la joie de martyre. Malgré les souffrances, peines ou persécutions, ils sont était les hommes heureux. Si nous voulons d’être heureux comme eux, il faut savoir nous centrer en Jésus Christ (configuration au Christ) et mettre en pratique tout ce que le Seigneur nous dira.

«Heureux les pauvres de coeur»

Abbé Àngel CALDAS i Bosch 
(Salt, Girona, Espagne)

Aujourd'hui avec la proclamation des Béatitudes, Jésus nous fait remarquer que souvent nous sommes ingrats et nous agissons comme des enfants, car le fait de jouer nous fait perdre la mémoire. Jésus avait peur que la grande quantité de “bonnes nouvelles” qu'il nous avait communiquées, c'est-à-dire toutes ses paroles, ses gestes et ses silences, se noient dans nos péchés et nos préoccupations. Vous rappelez-vous de la parole du semeur, l'image du grain de blé étouffé par les épines? C'est pour cela que Saint Matthieu qualifie les Béatitudes comme des principes fondamentaux, pour que nous n'oubliions jamais. Elles sont un résumé de la Nouvelle Loi présentée par Jésus, comme des points basiques qui nous aident à vivre comme des chrétiens.

Les Béatitudes sont destinées à tout le monde. L'enseignement de Jésus ne se limite pas aux disciples qui l'entourent, il n'exclut personne, c'est un message universel. Or, il précise l'attitude ainsi que la conduite morale que nous devons avoir. Même si le salut définitif ne se donne pas dans ce monde, mais dans l'autre, tant que nous vivons sur cette terre nous devons changer notre mentalité et transformer notre manière de valoriser les choses. Nous devons nous habituer à voir la face du Christ qui pleure chez ceux qui pleurent, chez ceux qui veulent vivre détachés des paroles et des faits, chez ceux qui ont les cœurs doux, chez ceux qui favorisent le désir de sainteté, chez ceux qui ont pris la “détermination déterminée”, comme disait Sainte Thérèse de Jésus, d'être semeurs de paix et joie.

Les Béatitudes sont le parfum du Seigneur qui se dégage dans l'histoire de l'humanité. Aussi bien dans la tienne que dans la mienne. Les deux derniers versets incorporent la présence de la Croix, puisqu'ils invitent à la joie quand les choses, humainement parlant, tournent mal à cause de Jésus et de l'Evangile. Et c'est parce que lorsque la cohérence de la vie chrétienne devient ferme, vienne alors plus facilement la persécution de mille et une façons, par des difficultés et des contrariétés inattendues. Le texte de Saint Matthieu est catégorique: alors «Réjouissez-vous, soyez dans l'allégresse, car votre récompense sera grande dans les cieux» (Mt 5,12).

The message of Fr.General to all the Claretains. 

Message for the Solemnity of the Heart of Mary - June 9, 2018

Dear brothers:

We are sons of the heart – of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As Claretian missionaries, we are born of her heart, formed, and accompanied by the same heart. As Pope Saint John Paul II observed in his Redemptor Hominis, “the mystery of the Redemption took shape beneath the heart of the Virgin of Nazareth when she pronounced her ‘fiat’. From then on, under the special influence of the Holy Spirit, this heart, the heart of both a virgin and a mother, has always followed the work of her Son and has gone out to all those whom Christ has embraced and continues to embrace with inexhaustible love.” (22).

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we honor her maternal heart by reminding ourselves of our identity as her sons, renewing our pledge to live up to the “pen picture” of such sons, as given by Father Claret in his famous definition of a missionary (cf. Aut. 494). What a blessing for us to be called the sons of her heart! For, her heart is truly a temple of God, beating every moment with love for God and of humanity. As St. Jerome wrote, “even while living in the world, the heart of Mary was so filled with motherly tenderness and compassion for [people] that no-one ever suffered so much for their own pains, as Mary suffered for the pains of her children.” Our struggles are her struggles, our dreams are her dreams, our joys are her joys. Pope Francis reminds us that Mary is “the handmaid of the Father who sings his praises. She is the friend who is ever concerned that wine not be lacking in our lives. She is the woman whose heart was pierced by a sword and who understands all our pain. As mother of all, she is a sign of hope for peoples suffering the birth pangs of justice. She is the missionary who draws near to us and accompanies us throughout life, opening our hearts to faith by her maternal love. As a true mother, she walks at our side, she shares our struggles and she constantly surrounds us with God’s love” (Evangelii Gaudium, 286).

This heart of Mary is tender, full of compassion; but, as is evident from her Magnificat (Cf. Luke 1:46-55) it also seeks justice – God’s justice: She dreams, desires, and works for a transformed world where the poor are cared for; the oppressed go free; pride, power, and hunger are eliminated; and God’s mercy rules.  “This interplay of justice and tenderness, of contemplation and concern for others, is what makes the ecclesial community look to Mary as a model of evangelization” (Evangelii Gaudium, 288): Indeed, a model for our Claretian evangelization. We seek refuge in this heart; and we pray that our hearts truly become like hers, so filled with love for Christ and suffering humanity. We pray as Mother Teresa prayed: "Mary, give me your Heart: so beautiful, so pure, so immaculate; your Heart so full of love and humility that I may be able to receive Jesus in the Bread of Life and love Him as You love Him and serve Him in the distressing guise of the poor."

It makes heart-sense that the Solemnity of the Immaculate Heart follows immediately the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart: the heart of the Mother closely follows that of the Son. Symeon, the New Theologian, of the tenth century wrote that we must put our mind in the heart and stay inside it, and from the depth of the heart, we should lift up our prayers to God. We may interpret his words as an invitation to join our hearts with the heart of Mary, contemplating the heart of her Son. I wish you all the joys and blessings of the Mother’s Heart, our missionary hearth and home.

Mathew Vattamattam, CMF

Superior General