Salmo - DOMINGO XII DO TEMPO COMUM do Ano A do P. Manuel Luís

Psalm - Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, by Fr. Manuel Luís Liturgical and musical analysis. The first reading is taken from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah: Context of the first reading: "Jeremiah, the prophet born in Anathoth around 650 BC, carried out his prophetic mission from 627/626 BC until after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (586 BC). The setting for the prophet's activity is, in general, the kingdom of Judah (and, above all, the city of Jerusalem). ....... .......In the Book of Jeremiah, complaints and laments of the prophet appear side by side, condemned to this life of apparent failure. Some of these texts are known as "Jeremiah's confessions" and are true outpourings in which the prophet exposes to Yahweh, with sincerity and rebellion, his disillusionment, his bitterness and his frustration (cf. Jer 11:18-23; 12:1-6; 15:10, 15-20; 17:14-18; 18:18-23; 20:7-18). The text proposed to us today is part of one of these "confessions of Jeremiah." cf. dehonianos.org Liturgical Reflection: "The prophet begins by describing the scene surrounding him… The crowd, tired of hearing announcements of punishment and terror, decides to put an end to Jeremiah's defeatism and prepares to silence him. ....... .......However, Jeremiah's lament is abruptly interrupted by an unexpected hymn of praise to Yahweh, an extraordinary expression of trust in the God who does not fail (vv. 11-13). It must be said that these verses are somewhat out of place here: probably, they were spoken by Jeremiah in another context and inserted here by the final editor of the book (in the original text, verses 7-10 would be followed by verses 14-18). In any case, this hymn reproduces the certainty that, despite the suffering and misunderstanding he has to face, the prophet is not alone: ​​he trusts in God, in his power, in his justice, in his love; and knows that God never abandons the poor who trust in Him (here “poor” should not be read in a material sense, but in the sense of unprotected, unjustly persecuted by the powerful)." cf. dehonianos.org The second reading is taken from the Epistle of the Apostle Saint Paul to the Romans: Context of the second reading: "At the end of the 50s (the letter to the Romans appeared around 57/58), the “crisis” between Christians from the Jewish world and Christians from the pagan world intensified. Christians of Jewish origin considered that, in addition to faith in Jesus Christ, it was necessary to fulfill the works of the Law of Moses in order to have access to salvation; but Christians of pagan origin refused to accept the obligation of Jewish practices. It was a “hot” issue that threatened the unity of the Church. ....... .......The text proposed to us is part of the first part of the Letter to the Romans (cf. Rom 1:18-11:36). After demonstrating that all (Jews and non-Jews) live immersed in sin (cf. Rom 1:18-3:20) and that it is the justice of God that saves everyone, without distinction (cf. Rom 3:21-5:11), Paul teaches that it is through Jesus Christ that the life of God comes to men and that salvation is offered to all (cf. Rom 5:12-8:39)." cf. dehonianos.org Liturgical Reflection: "To make it perfectly clear that salvation was offered by God to men through Jesus Christ, Paul here resorts to a literary figure that appears, with some frequency, in his writings: the antithesis. Specifically, Paul will expound his reasoning through a play of oppositions between two figures: Adam and Jesus. ....... ....... It is not clear that Paul is referring here to what later theology called "original sin" (that is, a historical sin committed by the first man, which affects and marks all men born at any time and place). What is clear is that, for Paul, Christ's intervention in human history translated into a dynamism of hope, of new life, of authentic life. Christ came to propose to humanity a path of communion with God and obedience to his plans; it is this path that leads man towards full and definitive life, towards salvation." cf. dehonianos.org The psalm says the following: In your great mercy, hear me, Lord, hear me, Lord. For your sake I have endured insults, my face covered with shame. I have become a stranger to my brothers, a stranger to my family. Zeal for your house has consumed me, and insults against you have fallen upon me. To you, Lord, I lift up my supplication, at the opportune time, my God. In your great goodness, answer me, as proof of your salvation. Deliver me from the mire, lest I sink, deliver me from those who hate me and from the abyss of the waters. You, humble ones, look and rejoice, seek the Lord and your hearts will revive. The Lord hears the poor and does not despise the captives. Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and all that moves in them.   / 497384921146112