In today’s second reading, from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, we heard that he was fighting what he called a thorn in the flesh. Three times he begged the Lord to remove this from Him. But all he heard was the Lord saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” What was it that was upsetting St. Paul so much? People have speculated over the years, but we have no way of knowing exactly what it was. Whatever it was, it was significant for Paul. It could not have been something as minor as a speech impediment. It was something far more personal and more severe. Whatever it was, it probably kept him awake at night. It is troubling for us to think that the great St. Paul had a major personal problem. Even in our cynical age, we still want to turn our saints into perfect little plastic statues. But people are not perfect, and even the greatest of the saints were people like you and me, continually fitting the temptation to sin. The voice of the Lord told Paul that His Power is made perfect in weakness. It was clear to Paul, that whatever success he had proclaiming the Gospel only occurred because God was working through him.
St. Paul was certainly not a spiritual introvert. He did not just focus on himself and ignore all who are around him for the sake of his spiritual life. Actually, no follower of Jesus Christ can be self-centered. We are not Buddhists. We are not Scientologists. We are Catholics. We are Christians. The Gospel of Jesus Christ must be listened to and must be proclaimed. We all have a tendency to be so bogged down with our own conception of what the minister of the Lord should be like that we miss the Word of God. We hear the priest and deacon preach about the scriptures, but we cannot get past his humanity. We say, “This priest who talks about being kind and charitable, does not appear to me to be very kind.” But truth is truth, whether it is proclaimed by a saint or a sinner.
It is easy for us to be so mired in the humanity of the proclaimer that we refuse to listen to the proclamation. St. Paul was told that Christ’s power is made perfect in his weakness. St. Paul realized that it was God working through him that brought so many people to the faith. Christ’s power also works through us. We really do not have the right to deny our responsibility to the Lord. We may think that we are not good enough to talk about the Lord, but we are good enough. He makes us good enough. We have to remember that the positive effects of what we say come from the Lord, not from us. So, we come before the Lord today and say with St. Peter, St. Paul and so many of the saints, “I am sinful, I cannot do your work” and Jesus says, “Yes you can. My power will work through you in ways greater than you can ever realize. My power is made perfect in your weakness.” • AE
St. Joseph Catholic Church (Dilley, TX) • Weekend Schedule
Saturday July 6, 2024
5.00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation – Fr. Agustin E.
6.00 p.m. Santa Misa – Fr. Agustin E.
Sunday, July 7, 2024
8.30 a.m. Holy Mass – Fr. Agustin E.
11.00 a.m. Holy Mass – Fr. Agustin E.
XIV Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo B)
Jesús no tenía poder cultural como los escribas. No era un intelectual con estudios. Tampoco poseía el poder sagrado de los sacerdotes del templo. No era miembro de una familia honorable, ni pertenecía a las elites urbanas de Séforis o Tiberíades. Jesús era un «obrero de la construcción», de una aldea desconocida de la Baja Galilea. No había estudiado en ninguna escuela rabínica. No se dedicaba a explicar la Ley. No le preocupaban las discusiones doctrinales. No se interesó nunca por los ritos del templo. La gente lo veía como un maestro que enseñaba a entender y vivir la vida de manera diferente.
Según el evangelista, cuando Jesús llegó a Nazaret acompañado por sus discípulos, sus vecinos quedaron sorprendidos por dos cosas: la sabiduría de su corazón y la fuerza curadora de sus manos. Era lo que más atraía a la gente. Jesús no era un pensador que explicaba una doctrina, sino un sabio que comunicaba su experiencia de Dios y enseñaba a vivir bajo el signo del amor. No era un líder autoritario que imponía su poder, sino un curador que sanaba la vida y aliviaba el sufrimiento.
A aquellos hombres y mujeres de Nazaret no les costó mucho desacreditar a Jesús. Neutralizaron su presencia con toda clase de preguntas, sospechas y recelos. No se dejaron enseñar por él, ni se abrieron a su fuerza curadora. Jesús no pudo acercarlos a Dios, ni curar a todos como él hubiera deseado. Y es que a Jesús no se le puede entender desde fuera. Hay que entrar en contacto con él, y dejar que vaya introduciendo poco a poco en nosotros cosas tan decisivas como la alegría de vivir, la compasión o la voluntad de crear un mundo más justo. Dejar que nos enseñe a vivir en la presencia amistosa y cercana de Dios. Cuando uno se acerca a Jesús, no se siente atraído por una doctrina, sino invitado a vivir de una manera nueva.
Por otra parte, para experimentar su fuerza salvadora, es necesario dejamos curar por él: recuperar poco a poco la libertad interior, liberamos de miedos que nos paralizan, atrevemos a salir de la mediocridad. Jesús sigue hoy imponiendo sus manos, y curan quienes creen realmente en Él • AE
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