Last Sunday, in the Gospel reading, Jesus said that Martha had chosen the best part and that part is that of silence and prayer #Contemplation In today´s gospel the Lord speaks to us again about that, about asking, about seeking, about finding a balance between doing and contemplating[1]. So, how to find that balance between our inner Martha and our inner Mary? Even more: How to work hard without forgetting that the best part is being close to Jesus, listening, spending time with Him? There is a time to listen and there is a time to get busy. As the Book of Qoheleth says, ‘for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.’[2] This morning, our prayer time, we are asking the Lord to give us His wisdom. Wisdom consists in knowing what is appropriate at any particular time. So today we could ask ourselves “What is Jesus asking me to do right now?” In our own relationship with the Him there is a time for both sitting at his feet to listen to him and for rolling up our sleeves and getting down to some serious work. We need to be attentive to both: the Lord of the work and the work of the Lord. The Lord needs us at times to be the good Samaritan to others, serving people in practical ways: He needs us to visit the sick, to support the weak, to help carry the burdens of others[3]. And there are other times when he needs us and wants us to be still before Him and to ponder his word. In silence. So, these are the two fundamental attitudes: listening prayerfully to the word of God and then keeping it by the way we live. This is the balance we should achieve! It is difficult, yes, but it is possible. In our Christian faith nothing is impossible. Due to the speed and stress in which we live, our tendency is to do things, being Mr. busy-busy-busy rather than contemplate, so, we have a lot to learn from the prayerful attitude of Jesus. If there is no prayer, if there is no silence, if there are no personal sacrifices, if there is no frequent moments of reconciliation and intimacy with the Lord, we are not going to achieve this balance. If we want to grow and to be filled with the love of God, it is necessary to plant our life firmly on three great realities: the Cross, the Host, and the Virgin [crux, hostia, et virgo] These are three mysteries that God gave us in order to structure, fructify, and sanctify our spiritual life and to lead us to Jesus. And these three mysteries are to be contemplated in silence.”[4] So, we always need to ask, ‘What is it that love requires of me at this moment, under these circumstances? How can I best serve this person at this time?’ In terms of our relationship with Jesus, there is a time to be present to him by actively serving him, as one of his workers. Yet, there is also a time to be present to Jesus by silently attending to his presence to us. Let us think about this at some point this weekend and let us not forget our Lady. The blessed Virgin Mary is the creature that achieved this balance between action and contemplation with absolute perfection, because she is the woman who best knows how to love Jesus. When we feel that we are hyperactive, super busy, and not very contemplative… that’s the time to look for her help and intercession. Our Lady is always the way to Jesus • AE
[1] Cf Lk 11:1-13. [2] Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 [3] Cf. Lk 10:25-37 [4] Cf. Robert Sarah, The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise.
READING? HERE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS (SUMMER 2022)
Fr. Agustin Schedule for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
St. Dominic Catholic Church
Saturday July 23, 2022
3.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessional)
5.00 p.m. (English Mass @ Main Church)
Sunday July 24, 2022
12.30 p.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)
3.00 p.m. Misa en Español (iglesia principal)
XVII Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo C)
La tragedia más grave de hoy es que no tenemos tiempo para la oración. Se nos esta está olvidando lo que es orar. Los más jóvenes han abandonado casi por completo las prácticas religiosas y las fórmulas de oración que nos alimentaros a nosotros, nuestros padres, nuestros abuelos…. Hemos ido reduciendo el tiempo dedicado a la oración y la reflexión interior hasta prácticamente excluirlo de nuestra vida. Y hay algo aún peor: hemos ido poco a poco perdiendo capacidad de silencio interior y de encuentro sincero con nosotros mismos y con Dios. Distraído por mil sensaciones, embotados interiormente, encadenados a un ritmo de vida a ratos deshumanizador…hemos dejado de orar. En una sociedad en la que se acepta como criterio primero y casi único la eficacia, el rendimiento y la utilidad inmediata, la oración queda desvalorizada como algo inútil y poco importante. Fácilmente se afirma que lo importante es la vida, como si la oración perteneciera al mundo de la muerte. Y, sin embargo, necesitamos orar. No es posible vivir con vigor la fe cristiana y la vocación humana, si estamos mal alimentados interiormente. Tarde o temprano llegamos a esa insatisfacción que produce en el corazón humano, el vacío interior, la banalidad de lo cotidiano, el aburrimiento de la vida y la incomunicación con el misterio. Necesitamos orar para encontrar silencio, serenidad y descanso que nos permitan sostener el ritmo de nuestro quehacer diario. Necesitamos orar para vivir en actitud lúcida y vigilante en medio de una sociedad superficial y deshumanizadora. Necesitamos orar para enfrentarnos valientemente a nuestra propia verdad y ser capaces de una autocrítica personal sincera. Necesitamos orar para no desalentarnos en el esfuerzo de irnos liberando individual y colectivamente de todo lo que nos impide ser más humanos. Necesitamos orar para liberarnos de nuestra propia soledad interior y poder vivir ante un Padre, en actitud más festiva, agradecida y creadora. Felices los que sean capaces de experimentar en lo más profundo de su ser, la verdad de las palabras de Jesús: «Quien pide está recibiendo, quien busca está hallando y al que llama se le está abriendo» • AE
LECTURAS PARA EL VERANO 2022
LA MEDITACION DE LA ESPOSA 