A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 9, n. 43)
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – September 18, 2011 *
“Whether I Live or Die”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 55:6-9 // Phil 1:20c-24a // Mt 20:1-16
(N.B. Series 9 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year A based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 3. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 6.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
The creative and formative word of God accompanies us through the liturgical year. This Sunday’s liturgy of the Word continues to form us in the compassionate way of our loving and forgiving God.
In the Old Testament reading (Is 55:6-9), the prophet Isaiah exhorts the Jewish people to turn to the Lord and pray to him for he is near. God is generous and forgiving. It is necessary for the erring people to take today’s golden opportunity to straighten up and to go back to the Lord God, who is infinitely merciful.
The biblical scholar Eugene Maly explains: “The Isaiah passage is addressed to the Jewish people, returned from exile in Babylon. Dispirited by the experience of a devastated homeland, they have become weary of their faith and their vaunted heritage. The prophet invited them to return to the source of all life and strength. God has not abandoned them; they have abandoned God. They have abandoned him because they tried to cut him down to their size, but he didn’t fit. They wanted to make their thoughts his thoughts, their ways his ways. But his thoughts and his ways are as high as the heavens are above the earth. They wanted to repay their enemies for the losses inflicted on them, but the Lord was for mercy. They wanted vengeance, but the Lord is generous in forgiving. They wanted their own closet God who would take care of all their needs as they felt them, but he is Lord of heaven and earth. And yet, this Lord is near to them. Seek the Lord while he may be found; call him while he is near. Only recognize the Lord as God, the prophet urges them, and surrender your petty ambitions and selfish dreams. Then will you experience how generous this God can be.”
The focal point of this Sunday’s Gospel (Mt 20:1-16) is the goodness and forgiveness of God. Those who receive Jesus Christ with faith become first in the kingdom. Eugene Maly asserts: “In the Father’s kingdom, all are equally loved. Human standards are not to be used to measure God’s generosity. (…) God forgives and loves as the world does not know how to forgive and love. The Church must do likewise. God’s thoughts and his ways are high above the world in other matters too. His ideals of justice, concern, and respect for life and freedom for all have never been matched by any purely human program. To turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, to hand over the coat as well, to become a eunuch for the sake of the kingdom – all of this seem ridiculous to the world. But all these other thoughts and ways of God flow from his ridiculous standards of generosity and love.”
Saint Paul the Apostle is a privileged example of the laborer of the “last hour” who benefited from the abundant riches of God’s grace. A persecutor of Christian faith, he was converted and experienced the undeserved free bounty of God. Saint Paul is a model of a true response to divine love radically revealed in Jesus Christ. In today’s Second Reading (Phil 1:20c-24, 27a), the Apostle is writing to the Philippians from a prison in Ephesus circa 56 A.D. Awaiting a possible death sentence, he reflects that for him both life and death take their meaning from Christ. Saint Paul asserts that with his whole being, he would bring honor to Christ, whether he live or die. Death for him is gain for he would relish the heavenly reward. To continue to live in this world, however, would mean a more fruitful labor for the Gospel. This would benefit more greatly the community of faith and encourage them to live a life worthy of the Gospel. Having been evangelized and brought under the power of the Gospel, they are to reflect in their life their belonging to Christ.
The following personal testimony of Fr. Jose Maniyangat, circulated through the Internet, powerfully illustrates the necessity of responding faithfully and obediently to our Christian vocation through life and death.
I was born on July 16, 1949 in Kerala, India to my parents, Joseph and Theresa Maniyangat. I am the eldest of seven children: Jose, Mary, Theresa, Lissama, Zachariah, Valsa and Tom. At the age of fourteen, I entered St. Mary’s Minor Seminary in Thirivalla to begin my studies for the priesthood. Four years later, I went to St. Joseph’s Pontifical Major Seminary in Alwaye, Kerala to continue my priestly formation. After completing the seven years of philosophy and theology, I was ordained a priest on January 1, 1975 to serve as a missionary in the Diocese of Thirivalla.
On Sunday April 14, 1985, the feast of Divine Mercy, I was going to celebrate Mass at a mission church in the north part of Kerala, and I had a fatal accident. I was riding a motorcycle when I was hit head-on by a jeep driven by a man who was intoxicated after a Hindu festival. I was rushed to a hospital about 35 miles away. On the way, my soul came out from my body and I experienced death. Immediately, I met my Guardian Angel. I saw my body and the people were mourning for me. At this time my angel told me: “I am going to take you to Heaven; the Lord wants to meet you. He also said that, on the way, he wanted to show me hell and purgatory.
Hell: First, the angel escorted me to hell. It was an awful sight! I saw Satan and the devils, an unquenchable fire of about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, worms crawling, people screaming and fighting, others being tortured by demons. The angel told me that all these sufferings were due to un-repented mortal sins. Then, I understood that there are seven degrees of suffering or levels according to the number and kinds of mortal sins committed in their earthly lives. The souls looked very ugly, cruel and horrific. It was a fearful experience. I saw people whom I knew, but I am not allowed to reveal their identities. The sins that convicted them were mainly abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, hatefulness, un-forgiveness and sacrilege.
The angel told me that if they had repented, they would have avoided hell and gone instead to purgatory. I also understood that some people who repent from these sins might be purified on earth through their sufferings. This way they can avoid purgatory and go straight to heaven. I was surprised when I saw in hell even priests and Bishops, some of whom I never expected to see. Many of them were there because they had misled the people with false teaching and bad example.
Purgatory: After the visit to hell, my Guardian Angel escorted me to purgatory. Here too, there are seven degrees of suffering and unquenchable fire. But it is far less intense that hell and there was neither quarreling nor fighting. The main suffering of these souls is their separation from God. Some of those who are in purgatory committed numerous mortal sins, but they were reconciled with God before their death. Even though these souls were suffering, they enjoy peace and the knowledge that one day they will see God face to face.
I had a chance to communicate with the souls in purgatory. They asked me to pray for them and to tell the people to pray for them as well, so that they can go to heaven quickly. When we pray for these souls, we will receive their gratitude through their prayers, and once they enter heaven, their prayers become even more meritorious. It is difficult for me to describe how beautiful my Guardian Angel is. He is radiant and bright. He is my constant companion and helps me in all my ministries, especially my healing ministry. I experience his presence everywhere I go and I am grateful for his protection in my daily life.
Heaven: Next, my angel escorted me to heaven passing through a big dazzling white tunnel. I never experienced this much peace and joy in my life. Then immediately heaven opened up and I heard the most delightful music, which I never heard before. The angels were singing and praising God. I saw all the saints, especially the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph, and many dedicated holy Bishops and priests who were shining like stars.
And when I appeared before the Lord, Jesus told me: “I want you to go back to the world. In your second life, you will be an instrument of peace and healing to my people. You will walk in a foreign land and you will speak in a foreign tongue. Everything is possible for you with my grace.” After these words, the Blessed Mother told me: “Do whatever he tells you. I will help you in your ministries.”
Words cannot express the beauty of heaven. There we find so much peace and happiness, which exceed a million times our imagination. Our Lord is far more beautiful than any image can convey. His face is radiant and luminous and more beautiful that a thousand rising suns. The pictures we see in the world are only a shadow of his magnificence. The Blessed Mother was next to Jesus. She was so beautiful and radiant. None of the images we see in this world can compare with her real beauty.
Heaven is our real home; we are all created to reach heaven and enjoy God forever.
***
Then, I came back to the world with my angel. While my body was at the hospital, the doctor completed all examinations and I was pronounced dead. The cause of death was bleeding. My family was notified, and since they were far away, the hospital staff decided to move my dead body to the morgue. Because the hospital did not have air conditioners, they were concerned that the body would decompose quickly. As they were moving my dead body to the morgue, my soul came back to the body. I felt an excruciating pain because of so many wounds and broken bones. I began to scream, and then the people became frightened and ran away screaming. One of them approached the doctor and said: “The dead body is screaming.” The doctor came to examine the body and found that I was alive. So he said: “Father is alive; it is a miracle! Take him back to the hospital.”
Now, back at the hospital, they gave me blood transfusions and I was taken to surgery to repair the broken bones. They worked on my lower jaw, ribs, pelvic bone, wrists, and right leg. After two months, I was released from the hospital, but my orthopedic doctor said that I would never walk again. I then said to him: “The Lord who gave me my life back and sent me back to the world will heal me.” Once at home, we were all praying for a miracle. Still after a month, and with the casts removed, I was not able to move. But one day while praying I felt an extraordinary pain in my pelvic area. After a short while the pain disappeared completely and I heard a voice saying: “You are healed. Get up and walk.”
I felt the peace and healing power on my body. I immediately got up and walked. I praised and thanked God for the miracle. I reached my doctor with the news of my healing, and he was amazed. He said: “Your God is the true God. I must follow your God.” The doctor was Hindu, and he asked me to teach him about our Church. After studying the Faith, I baptized him and he became Catholic.
Following the message from my Guardian Angel, I came to the United States on November 10, 1986 as a missionary priest. Since June 1999, I have been a pastor of St. Mary Mother of Mercy Catholic Church in Macclenny, Florida.
By Fr. Jose Maniyangat at http://www.stmarymacclenny.com/
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Have we tried to cut down God to our size and wanted to make our thoughts his thoughts and our ways his ways? Do we avail of the compassionate love of God that transcends our painfully limited ways and thoughts?
Do we ever begrudge God’s generosity? Or instead, do we rejoice with God in his infinite goodness for all his people and creation?
Do we give honor and glory to God in all our being, whether by life or by death?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Leader: Almighty God, you are our loving Father.
Your infinite mercy is beyond our feeble thoughts and faltering ways.
Our heart is too narrow to contain your abounding love.
We thank you for you are generous and forgiving.
You showed justice to laborers of the first hour
and kindness to workers of the later hour.
Help us to imitate your benevolence and generosity
so that no one among us would lack the basic necessities of life.
We are laborers in your vineyard
and we need personal dedication as farmhands
in the great field of evangelizing work.
Teach us to be like Saint Paul, a laborer of the last hour,
in responding fully to your compassionate saving love.
Like the great Apostle to the Gentiles,
help us to declare that life is Christ and to die is gain.
In every way and in all our thoughts,
let us live by the spirit of the Gospel.
Teach us to glorify you with our whole being
in this life and for all eternity.
We commit ourselves to you,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.” (cf. Phil 1:21)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
ACTION PLAN: Pray for greater personal dedication of all laborers in God’s vineyard and a deeper insight into the infinite mercy of God. By your acts of charity and solidarity with those who are experiencing the various hardships in today’s society (unemployment, poverty, insecurity etc.), let them experience that Christ is the meaning and focus of our life whether we live or die.
ACTION PLAN: That we may always give honor to Christ whether we live or die, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, vol. 7, # 43).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US