Rest In Me - A Song of Hope & Encouragement by Todd Vaters & SALM 139

& Salm139

(S:139:1) Lill-mexxej tal-kor. Salm ta' David.
Mulej, int tgħarbilni u tagħrafni;

S:139:2) int taf meta noqgħod u meta nqum, int tagħraf mill-bogħod ħsibijieti.

 (S:139:3) Int tagħraf il-mixi u l-waqfien tiegħi; triqati kollha inti tafhom sewwa.

 (S:139:4) Nkun għadni anqas lissint il-kelma, meta int, Mulej, tkun ġa tafha kollha.

 (S:139:5) Dawramejt inti tħaddanni, u tqegħedli idek fuqi.

 (S:139:6) L-għerf tiegħek ta' l-għaġeb, ma nwassalx għalih; għoli wisq, u ma nlaħħaqx miegħu.

 (S:139:7) Fejn immur 'il bogħod mill-ispirtu tiegħek? Jew fejn nista' naħrab minn quddiem wiċċek?

 (S:139:8) Jekk nitla' fis-smewwiet, hemm int; jekk nimtedd f'qiegħ l-art, int hemm ukoll.

S:139:9) Jekk nilbes il-ġwienaħ tas-sebħ, u mmur ngħammar fi truf il-baħar,

 (S:139:10) hemm ukoll tilħaqni idek, u taqbadni l-leminija tiegħek.

 (S:139:11) Jekk ngħid: "Ħa jaħbini d-dlam, ħa jkunli d-dawl lejl madwari?"

 (S:139:12) anqas id-dlam ma hu mudlam; għalik il-lejl jiddi bħan-nhar; id-dlam bħad-dawl għalik.

 (S:139:13) Għax int sawwart il-ġewwieni tiegħi, u f'ġuf ommi inti nsiġtni.

 (S:139:14) Nroddlok ħajr, għax b'mod ta' l-għaġeb għamiltni:

 ta' l-għaġeb huma l-għemejjel tiegħek. U 'l ruħi inti tafha tajjeb.

 (S:139:15) Ma kienx moħbi għadmi minnek, meta kont qiegħed insir

fis-satra u nintiseġ fil-qigħan ta' l-art.

 (S:139:16) Raw għajnejk l-għemejjel tiegħi: kollha nkitbu fil-ktieb tiegħek; u jiemi kienu ġa magħduda meta ebda wieħed ma kien għad hemm.

 (S:139:17) Kemm huma tqal ħsibijietek għalija, o Alla! Kemm hu bla tarf l-għadd tagħhom!

 (S:139:18) Li kelli ngħoddhom, huma aktar mir-ramel; xħin nasal

fl-aħħar, nkun għadni fil-bidu miegħek.



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The Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas Gospel --- Dec 29 Gospel - Lk 2:22-35 -- Jesus Presented in the Temple - Il-preżentazzjoni ta' Ġesù fit-tempju

Dec 29 Gospel - Lk 2:22-35 -- Jesus Presented in the Temple - Il-preżentazzjoni ta' Ġesù fit-tempju

THE FIFTH DAY IN THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS GOSPEL --- Il-Ħames Jum fost l-Ottava tal-Milied.
Il-preżentazzjoni ta' Ġesù fit-tempju
[Lq:2:22] Wara li għalqilhom iż-żmien għall-purifikazzjoni tagħhom skond il-Liġi ta' Mosè, ħaduh Ġerusalemm biex jippreżentawh lill-Mulej, [Lq:2:23] kif hemm miktub fil-Liġi tal-Mulej, li 'kull tifel li jitwieled l-ewwel, jiġi kkonsagrat lill-Mulej,' [Lq:2:24] u biex joffru b'sagrifiċċju 'par gamiem jew żewġ bċieċen,' kif jingħad ukoll fil-Liġi tal-Mulej.
[Lq:2:25] F'Ġerusalemm kien hemm wieħed, jismu Xmun, raġel ġust u tajjeb, li kien jistenna l-faraġ ta' Iżrael u li kellu l-Ispirtu s-Santu fuqu. [Lq:2:26] L-Ispirtu s-Santu kien nebbħu li ma kienx se jara l-mewt qabel ma jara l-Messija tal-Mulej. [Lq:2:27] Mar mela fit-tempju, mqanqal mill-Ispirtu, u xħin il-ġenituri daħlu bit-tarbija Ġesù biex jagħmlulu dak li kienet trid il-Liġi, [Lq:2:28] huwa laqgħu fuq dirgħajh, bierek lil Alla u qal:
[Lq:2:29] "Issa, o Sid, tista' tħalli l-qaddej tiegħek
 imur fis-sliem, skond kelmtek,
[Lq:2:30] għaliex għajnejja raw
is-salvazzjoni tiegħek
[Lq:2:31] li int ħejjejt għall-popli kollha,
[Lq:2:32] dawl biex idawwal il-ġnus,
u glorja tal-poplu tiegħek Iżrael."
 [Lq:2:33] Missieru u ommu baqgħu mistagħġba b'dak li kien qiegħed jingħad fuqu. [Lq:2:34] Xmun berikhom, u qal lil ommu Marija: "Ara, dan se jġib il-waqgħa u l-qawmien ta' ħafna f'Iżrael; se jkun sinjal li jmeruh, [Lq:2:35] - u inti wkoll, sejf jinfidlek ruħek! - biex jinkixfu l-ħsibijiet moħbija fil-qlub ta' ħafna."




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28th Dec - Mt 2:13-18 -- The Escape to Egypt - Il-ħarba lejn l-Eġittu

Il-ħarba lejn l-Eġittu

Evanġelju
Mt 2: 13-18

Qari mill-Evanġelju skont San Mattew.

Meta telqu l-maġi, deher anġlu tal-Mulej f’ħolma lil Ġużeppi u qallu: “Qum, ħu miegħek lit-tifel u ’l ommu, u aħrab lejn l-Eġittu. Ibqa’ hemm sa ma ngħidlek jien, għax Erodi sa jfittex lit-tifel biex joqtlu”. 

Ġużeppi qam, ħa miegħu lit-tifel u ’l ommu bil-lejl, u warrab lejn l-Eġittu, u baqa’ hemm sal-mewt ta’ Erodi. B’hekk seħħ dak li kien qal il-Mulej permezz tal-profeta, meta qal, ‘Mill-Eġittu sejjaħt lil ibni’. Erodi mbagħad meta ra li l-Maġi kienu għaddewh ta’ tifel, inkorla bis-sħiħ, u bagħat joqtol f’Betleħem u fl-inħawi kollha tagħha lit-tfal subien kollha ta’ minn sentejn ’l isfel, skont iż-żmien li sar jaf minn għand il-Maġi. Imbagħad seħħ dak li kien ingħad permezz tal-profeta Ġeremija, meta qal, ‘F’Rama nstema’ leħen, biki u lfiq kbir: Rakel tibki ’l uliedha, u ma tridx min ifarraġha, għax ma għadhomx iżjed’.


Il-Kelma tal-Mulej.
R/. Tifħir lilek Kristu.

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LECTIO DIVINA: THE HOLY INNOCENTS

http://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-divina-holy-innocents 

 



Lectio Divina:  Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Christmas Time
Reading: Mt 2:13-18 
When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
"Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him."
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled,
Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:

A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.
 

Lectio
Through the departure of the Magi this text is connected to four passages that have preceded it - that is to the story of their visit. The following context covers a period of many years following the death of Herod and also telling of the return of Joseph, Mary and Jesus to Palestine and their settling down in Nazareth.

The text of the Gospel of the infancy according to Matthew, is contrasted with that which appears in the account of the slavery in Egypt and the Exodus. This is a combination of different elements: the name of Joseph which recalls the son of Jacob who went down to Egypt, the massacre of the children, and the return from Egypt.

It is an angel of the Lord that comes to Joseph, who finds himself in danger, and suggests the flight into a land that at that time, was one of the outlets for Hebrew emigration. This warning came in a dream and it points to some sort of particular revelation, perhaps more hidden and perhaps requiring deeper consideration. This would again testify to the characteristic wisdom of Mary's spouse. The flight of Joseph, the child and the mother has a temporal characteristic connotation: it happens at night. We find two Old Testament citations, which throw light upon the events being recounted. Hosea and Jeremiah are cited. After the first citation, short and to the point, the scene moves to Herod who orders the systematic killing of the children of Bethlehem and its surrounds; this agrees with other historical sources that describe him as a ruler without scruples, ready to kill even his own children to keep in power. The final Old Testament citation, which is much longer, closes the section. It takes up the lament of the prophet Jeremiah regarding the Assyrian deportation; the Evangelist locates the slaughter that takes place at the very heart of the suffering people of God.

Meditatio
Recalling the experience of exile and slavery of the people of Egypt and their return to their homeland recalls for us the Passover of the Hebrews, thus opening the passage to its greater meaning.

Furthermore, the perspective given by the text underlines the accomplishment of the Word of God within human experience, even in those people who are the most crewel.
From this emerges the readiness of God to protect the gift given to humankind throughout history: his own Son. But the Son of God is not preserved from pain, another reason for us to grasp the future characteristic of the Easter event. Jesus is saved at this moment so that he can in the future announce the Word in order to give life when the time comes.
And the protector is Joseph, a wise man, who knows how to listen (see Mt 1,20 & 2,19) and act accordingly.

Herod accomplishes his slaughter, driven by his fear of loosing his power and infuriated by failed success of his attempted deception of the Magi. The text expresses it as if it was he who was deceived, and thus it shows the evil reasoning of power, its arrogance that believes that the one who opposes is always wrong.

So we are drawn to ask ourselves why God allows all this. But perhaps this question may conceal our responsibility: our greed and thirst for power, our roots of cruelty that history experiences in every age. And so God answers the question regarding "the why of evil", and he does it not with words but through incarnation in this our history. Thus establishing a history of salvation.
That is why Easter, with its light, is on the horizon at Christmas.

Oratio
So that we might learn from and listen to the Word and put into practice.
For all those who are forced to flee their homeland.
So that we might be aware of the struggles brought about by every form of greed and power seeking, and thus be protected from it.
For all the wounded children of today, the hungry, child-soldiers, the sexually exploited, the sexually abused.

Contemplatio
The text invites us to look into history with the eyes of faith, a history God has chosen to be present to be present in, even beyond all our imaginings. At the same time, God is inviting us to take responsibility for those who, for different reasons, suffer persecution and displacement.

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27th DEC. St. John, Apostle, Evangelist (Feast) -- Jn 20:2-8 -- The Empty Tomb - Il-qawmien ta' Ġesù mill-imwiet

20. Il-qawmien ta' Ġesù mill-imwiet
(Mt 28, 1-10 ; Mk 16, 1-8 ; Lq 24, 1-12)

[Ġw:20:1] Kien l-ewwel jum tal-ġimgħa, fil-għodu kmieni kif kien għadu d-dlam, u Marija ta' Magdala ġiet ħdejn il-qabar u rat il-blata mneħħija mill-qabar.

[Ġw:20:2] Għalhekk telqet tiġri għand Xmun Pietru u għand id-dixxiplu l-ieħor li kien iħobb Ġesù, u qaltilhom: "Qalgħu l-Mulej  mill-qabar, u ma nafux fejn qegħduh!" [Ġw:20:3] Pietru u d-dixxiplu  l-ieħor ħarġu u ġew ħdejn il-qabar. [Ġw:20:4] It-tnejn ġrew flimkien, imma d-dixxiplu l-ieħor ħaffef aktar minn Pietru u laħaq qablu ħdejn il-qabar. [Ġw:20:5] Tbaxxa, u ra l-faxex ta' l-għażel imqiegħda hemm, iżda ma daħalx. [Ġw:20:6] Mbagħad wasal warajh Xmun Pietru, daħal fil-qabar, u ra l-faxex ta' l-għażel imqiegħda hemm, [Ġw:20:7] u l-maktur li kien madwar rasu; dan ma kienx mal-faxex, imma mitwi u mqiegħed f'post għalih. [Ġw:20:8] Mbagħad id-dixxiplu l-ieħor, li kien wasal l-ewwel ħdejn il-qabar, daħal hu wkoll, ra, u emmen.





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