GOSPEL MEDITATION – ENCOURAGE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE

July 16, 2022

July 17, 2022 ~ 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

CSR GuidedBy 052222 4c

“Our families need to ask for the gift of the Spirit! Through prayer, even in the busiest times, we give time back to God, we find the peace that comes from appreciating the important things, and we encounter the joy of God’s unexpected gifts. Through daily prayer may our homes become, like the house of Martha and Mary, places where Jesus always finds a warm welcome (Pope Francis).” While it is necessary to attend to the details of hospitality, learning how to be present to people, experiences, and God is sometimes more important. Creating homes that are welcoming environments requires not only organization and structure but members who truly enjoy being there and celebrating life with one another.

Details can often get the best of us. While attending to details is important to success, our obsession with them can be problematic. Whether wanting to make a good impression, fear of failure, insecurity, or emotional immaturity, throwing ourselves into the “details” of hospitality can distract us from being present to those we want to serve. Conversely, focusing exclusively on being present without any attention to detail also sets our attempts at hospitality up for disaster! We need a balance of both. But creating a truly welcoming space in our homes and within ourselves requires still more.

We have to be empty of ourselves. Becoming a welcoming, hospitable person is not possible in someone focused on their own needs and desires. If the one we serve is the one who looks back at us in the mirror, then there is no space for anyone else. While Martha and Mary had different ideas of what it means to serve, they both had the inner space and freedom to do so. They were detached from themselves. Detachment becomes the challenge to hospitality and creating a God-centered, open-hearted space in our lives. When we impulsively act out of our personal agendas, violence, abuse, pride, greed, lust, power, control, passion, and self-aggrandizement encroach upon the space needed to be present to another human being. Not only can others not find a home in us, but even God cannot find a home in us! ©LPi

MEDITACIÓN EVANGÉLICO – ALENTAR ENTENDIMIENTO MÁS PROFUNDO DE LA ESCRITURA (Gospel Meditation)

17 de julio de 2022 ~ 16º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

Nos pasamos nuestra vida, desde que tenemos uso de razón hasta el final de los días, tratando de elegir lo mejor, ser lo mejor, vestir y comer lo mejor.  Grandes pensadores, filósofos y consejeros, por mencionar algunos, escriben libros, dan conferencias con la misma meta y siempre con el mismo objetivo: “Que sepamos elegir en la vida lo mejor”. El domingo pasado escuchábamos como el buen samaritano y el posadero hicieron lo mejor para el pobre hombre que fue asaltado en el camino. Hoy, la Liturgia nos presenta otra escena en el Evangelio de Lucas: ¿Cómo saber elegir lo mejor?

Jesús, nos narra el Evangelio… entró a un pueblo donde vivían Marta y María, quienes lo recibieron en su casa. Ambas mujeres, me imagino, conocían a Jesús. Este es un punto interesante, ya que Martha eligió la parte del trabajo, sin fijarse en la importancia del invitado. Iba y venía atendiendo los quehaceres, sin prestar la mayor atención. Hasta que de repente, notó que su hermana estaba muy sin prisa, sentada a los pies de Jesús, escuchándolo. Es por esta razón que Martha se atreve a reclamar a Jesús: “Señor, ¿no te importa que mi hermana me haya dejado sola para atender? Dile que me ayude. Pero el Señor respondió: Marta, Marta, tú andas preocupada y te pierdes en mil cosas: una sola es necesaria. María ha elegido la mejor parte, que no le será quitada” (Lucas 10,40-42).  Nadie nos separará del amor de Cristo, y ese amor nos hará perfectos, dice San Pablo. ©LPi