Lázaro, el Hijo Pródigo, y usted

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XXVI Domingo Ordinario, Año C: 29 Septiembre 2013
Am 6, 1.4-7; Sal 145; 1 Tim 6, 11-16; Lc 16, 19-31

Hoy escuchamos de nuestro Señor Jesús, la parábola del hombre rico y Lázaro. Y hay algunos puntos en los cuales esta parábola se parece a una que oímos hace dos semanas. ¿Le dio cuenta de que Lázaro, yaciendo a la entrada de la casa del hombre rico, ansiaba llenarse con las sobras que caían de la mesa del rico? Oímos esas mismas palabras acerca del Hijo Pródigo: que, después de que había gastado toda su herencia, y cayó en desgracia y tuvo que tomar un trabajo de alimentación de los cerdos, ansiaba llenarse de las bellotas que comían los cerdos. (Lc 15, 16) ¿Y se acuerda de la celebración que pasó en esa parábola, y cómo el padre hablaba de cómo había que celebrar? (Lc 15, 23.24.29.32) Esta es la misma palabra que describe lo que hacía el hombre rico de la parábola todos los días.

Lazarus, the Prodigal Son, and you

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26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C: Sept. 29, 2013
Amos 6:1, 4-7; Ps 146; 1 Tim 6:11-16; Luke 16:19-31

Today we hear from our Lord Jesus the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. And there are some points in which this parable resembles one that we heard a couple weeks ago. Did you notice that Lazarus, lying at the rich man’s door, longed to eat his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table? We heard that same language about the Prodigal Son: who, after he had spent all of his inheritance, and fell on hard times, and had to take a job feeding pigs, longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed. (Luke 15:16) And do you remember the celebration that happened in that parable, and how the father spoke of how it was necessary to celebrate? (Luke 15:23, 24, 29, 32) This is the same word that describes what the rich man in this parable did every day.

Give what you cannot keep, to gain what you cannot lose!

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25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C: Sept. 22, 2013
Amos 8:4-7; Ps 113; 1 Tim 2:1-8; Luke 16:1-13

Today we hear our Lord Jesus tell the parable that is often known as the “dishonest steward.” And this is a parable that often puzzles people. We might wonder: Why does the steward’s master commend him for changing the promissory notes of the debtors? Is Jesus telling us that we should act like the steward; and, if so, how?

It seems that Jesus is shifting between different details of his parable, and different analogies, in a way that can be confusing. But if we dig into this a bit, I think we discover a single, basic message that he is trying to convey to us.

¡Dé lo que no puede guardar, para ganar lo que no puede perder!

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XXV Domingo Ordinario, Año C: 22 Septiembre 2013
Am 8, 4-7; Sal 112; 1 Tim 2, 1-8; Lc 16, 1-13

Hoy oímos a nuestro Señor Jesús a la parábola que a menudo se conoce como el “administrador infiel.” Y puede ser una parábola confusa, porque parece que a veces Jesús está cambiando entre los diferentes detalles de su parábola, y diferentes analogías. Pero si pensamos en esto un poco, creo que descubrimos un mensaje único y básico que está tratando de transmitir a nosotros.

Happy birthday, Blessed Mother!

From the Sept. 7-8, 2013, bulletin of St. Martin of Tours parish, Gaithersburg, Md.

Nine months have passed since Dec. 8, when we celebrated the immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (immaculate:  free of the “macula”/stain of original sin).  And so on Sept. 8 we celebrate the feast of her nativity or birth.  (This year, since Sept. 8 falls on a Sunday, the Sunday takes precedence in our liturgical calendar.)

The Church in both east and west has celebrated this feast since the 6th and 7th centuries.  We celebrate only three births liturgically: 

En la humildad, liberado y fundado

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XXII Domingo Ordinario, Año C: 1 Septiembre 2013
Sir 3, 19-21.30-31; Sal 67; Heb 12, 18-19.22-24; Lc 14, 1.7-14

En las lecturas de hoy, se nos insta a tener humildad y humillarnos. Pero, ¿qué significa esto?

• ¿Significa la humildad no hacer nada para aprender más, u obtener un buen trabajo, o mejorar nuestra condición de vida? No.
• ¿Significa la humildad decir falsamente que no valemos nada, que no tenemos buenas cualidades o talentos o habilidades? No.
• ¿Significa la humildad pasivamente dejar que la falsedad o el mal nos aplasten, y nunca hablar o actuar por la verdad y la bondad? No.

Humbly receptive at the great banquet

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22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C: Sept. 1, 2013
Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Ps 68; Heb 12:18-19, 22-24; Luke 14:1, 7-14

In our Gospel reading today, we hear our Lord Jesus advise: “When you are invited to a wedding banquet, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.'” Now, as literal advice, taking the lowest place with that goal wouldn’t be real humility at all; it would be a manipulative fraud. But we know that our Lord Jesus is telling a parable here, and sometimes when he does so he exaggerates the everyday details of the story in order to make his point.

But imagine for a moment that you did take the advice literally; that you took the lowest place in the banquet; and no one noticed.

Work, work, work!

From the Aug. 31–Sept. 1, 2013, bulletin of St. Martin of Tours parish, Gaithersburg, Md.

Labor Day has been a federal holiday since 1894, to celebrate the economic and social contributions of workers.  But our Catholic faith has valued work and workers for much longer than that!