Thursday 9 February 2017

Year A - Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

1st Reading Isaiah 58.7-10
Psalm 111
 2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 2.1-5 
Gospel: Matthew 5.13-16


To go further

Details
-This rabbit goes from a neutral landscape (there is nothing behind him) to the outskirts of a menacing and ever-darkening forest. There are 13 pairs of eyes fixed on him.
 -The attitude of the rabbit is hesitant. His ears all crumpled, his body folded backwards, as if everything in him was resisting. His eyes look elsewhere.
 -The sky becomes grey, the road becomes darker.
-Only one thing seems firm and solid, the sign “MISSION”, upright and colourful, planted in the middle of the road (usually they are placed at the edge).
 Questions
-When we read the letters of Saint Paul, we are mostly taken by their vivacity, their solidity, their directness and incisiveness. And there, he tells us that he is timid and trembling. It is at this moment that God can take place. That which we consider as a weakness is, in reality, a great force in the eyes of God, He who has passed this road. The force of the rabbit comes from the fact that he is sent (The “mission” sign). If he is sent, it is by someone. If that someone is God, obviously he is in the right place. Why would He send him to the middle of nowhere for no benefit?
 -Do I realise that my weakness is an occasion to let God pass in front of me, across me?
 -If I do, how do I live such a situation in my daily life?



Year A - 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time

1st Reading: Zephaniah 2.3 ; 3.12-13
                   Psalm 145                
2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 1.26-31 
Gospel: Matthieu 5.1-12



To go further
Details

-The poor of heart, or spirit, is he who is aside, he who we leave alone. The poor man is he whom we do not listen to. He who has nothing for us to learn. Here, he is shown in a cave at the centre of the earth, with a microscopic gallery leading to the surface.

-He seems sad, timid, even stuck, and fearful in his regard. He has no possessions in his cave. God will come to him.

-Above the surface of the earth there are three scenes:
1. On the left, he who is rich, with his limousine, cash and safe.
2. In the middle, he who is strong, according to the world. He seduces and brings all success concerning romance.
3. To the right, he who is most powerful. He is on his throne and with his sceptre. He shouts orders, people bow before him and he is presented live-streaming on the TV.

These three people are rich, according to the criteria of our world. We would like to be like them. At new year, these are the kind of things that we wish for: Fortune, love and glory… and we think it is the real happiness.

-Jesus turned things on their head and said that the Kingdom belonged to those who were meek of heart. The gallery holds truffles, rare and highly sought mushrooms, veritable treasures which sprout around oak trees. It is the nose of a dog or pig which helps find these, thanks to the odours that these truffles leak out from the gallery and up to the surface of the earth.
-The meek heart is a sweet-smelling sacrifice for God. It is with God that the meek heart lives. He who manages to detect the odour of God in the meek of heart must have a refined and well-worked sense of smell. He must also be close to the ground, so therefore humble (which comes from the Latin for “earth”, “humus”)

Questions
-And I, what do I take from all that?