Allocution, 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Thank you to everyone who makes this radio broadcast possible, today June 13, the eleventh Sunday of ordinary liturgical time and also the feast of Saint Anthony of Padua. Today the Gospel according to Saint Mark chapter 4 verses 26 to 34 is read in all the Catholic churches of the world.
(GOSPEL)
Jesus loved to teach the truth with parables or stories. Someone has said that the shortest distance between man and the truth is a story, and that the deepest truth is found with the help of a short and simple story. Young children like to listen to stories that contain morals and instructions to live decently and honestly.
Today the Gospel has told us about a farmer who sows seeds with tears and patiently waits for germination, and when he least expects it he sees the plant, flowers and fruits emerge. We have not planted any mango trees and we have eaten thousands of mangoes in different forms. If the patient farmer had not done it, we would not enjoy the wonder of the mango.
When Jesus tells us about sowing the seed, he is referring to the sowing of goodness, honesty, family harmony, and the kingdom of God.
We thank God for so many people who planted in us Faith, Hope, Charity and countless pieces of advice that have led us to happiness. Our parents, grandparents, relatives, godparents, teachers, priests, nuns, people of good will, did this sowing with testimonies, examples, teachings, fraternal correction, heroic patience.
It is true that sometimes the seed of good has been covered and hidden by forgetfulness, mockery, contempt, and ignoring, but the seed is there germinating, you just have to pull out the weeds so that the seed of good can grow. fructify.
Jesus has also told us about the mustard seed, the smallest of seeds. A millimeter of seed in a plant that grows a meter, no more, and becomes a large bush and puts out branches so large that birds nest in it. A small teaching can bear abundant fruit, it can transform a bad person into a good one, a thief into an honest one, a father who abandoned his children into a close and good father, a family separated by hatred into a united family. A little teaching works miracles.
God likes to work with the small. A word from him created the world with dimensions so extraordinary that it cannot even be measured with the speed of light. A sperm fertilized an egg and now we are each one of us. One seed gives trees, five loaves and two fish gave food for five thousand men, not counting women and children, as the Gospel of Mark, chapter 6, verses 30 to 44, has told us. Twelve apostles made the Gospel present in the then known world of the 1st century. The words of the priest in the mass convert the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. Jesus Christ is in the small Tabernacle illuminated by a dim light. A prayerful tear from a mother changes a bad son, a thief, a bad head, into a good, honest, helpful son. A slow and patient conversation from a father straightens the son’s wrong path, a night kiss from a husband and wife disappears the afternoon dispute. You have to teach calmly: pedagogy, creativity, perseverance, affection. Sow, sow a lot, and your family, neighbors and friends will be very, very happy and remember that whoever sows rice, beans and vegetables does so dreaming of a great harvest, because if he is going to sow without hope, he will not do it. Sow and teach with hope.
(SINGING)
Father Manuel Uña Fernández turned 86 on June 10. He tells us his little greatness:
“Brothers, you are my best congratulations. For 28 years, in San Juan de Letrán, I have been and am very happy. Now I want to share something with you: at this point, when the cycle of my seasons is synthesizing and I am completing my career, I realize that life begins every day. I celebrate so much good received, so much good loved and given. I make Pablo Neruda’s words my own: ‘Very close to my twilight, I bless you life, because you never gave me failed hope, unjust work or undeserved pain.’
”I remember that in the years 52 and following, in Granada, I was prepared to be a preaching friar; In the 60s, the workers living with them in Almería told me what they expected the priest to be like. At this time, in Havana, I feel the need to learn to walk ‘years up’, without losing the ability to be Reborn, in this life and in the one on the other shore.
“Allow me to have a detail with you today and give you a parable, my parable, that of old age:
”For a few years now, a companion has been with me, who has become inseparable due to his function and meaning. This is my cane. It’s not just any cane, I wanted it to be made of bamboo cane. It is a gift from siblings: my sister chose it with great taste and my brother generously paid for it.
– The bamboo inside is empty
– It is resistant, strong, with the ability to grow quickly and regenerate
– The higher it grows, the more it bends without breaking, because the roots are its firm foundation
– Bamboo canes do not grow alone, they support each other, they are a symbol of communion.
”This reminds me of one of Rabindranath Tagore’s poems: ‘Here I am sitting at your feet. Just let me make my life straight and simple, like a reed flute, so that you can fill it with music.
”But there’s nothing wrong with being easy… Because the reed has to be carved and cut into many openings, so that the air can escape and the music can be heard.
”Today I feel the call to be an empty instrument of myself, like Jesus who became one of many… In Cuba, I have wanted to give the best to everyone, but this people that I love so much has been the one who has given me everything, they could not have given me more: their trust and their affection.
”I have very much in mind the words of Dulce María Loynaz: ‘Only by digging into the shadow, sucking drop by drop the living juice of the shadow, can one achieve noble and lasting work. Pleasant is the air, pleasant is the light; but you can’t be all flower…; and he who does not root his soul, dries up.
“Brothers, help me to let myself be ‘carved’ and live in the shadows. I need to be silent, to make myself silent to pray with the psalmist: In old age and gray hair do not abandon me, my God, I will sing a new song for You. It is the silence of the 86, where the instrument is ‘tuned’, because time is running out and time is gained to continue being faithful and happy.”
Fr. Manuel Uña Fernández, O.P.
On the day of my 86th birthday.
If you want to congratulate him on his 86 years, on his 62 years as a priest, his teaching, his greatness and his smallness, you can call 78327329.
(SINGING)
A declaration of love with short poetic words from the groom and a “yes” to these sweet words turns into a happy marriage.
Dear Husband and Wife:
How wonderful that God created them to fall in love, get married and start a beautiful family! How wonderful to live together for so many years of natural, faithful, fruitful and sacramental marriage! How wonderful to have overcome so many difficulties together, to have suffered illnesses, sorrows, pain together, and love to have grown in the midst of so many storms! How wonderful to have enjoyed so many joys, parties, celebrations of yourselves, your children, grandchildren and other family members! How wonderful that the love of today is greater than the love of the declaration in courtship! How wonderful to love each other today more than yesterday but not as much as tomorrow! How wonderful the love of God for you! How wonderful your love for God, what a wonderful marriage! The blessing of God the Father who created you to love each other, the blessing of Jesus Christ on the path of love, the blessing of the Holy Spirit who can achieve unsuspected dreams, and the company of the Virgin, savior of marriages, descend on you, on your entire family and remain forever. Amen.
(SINGING)
A writer who lived in a house near the sea one day observed a young man collecting starfish in the sand and throwing them into their natural habitat.
– Why does he do that? the writer asked.
– Don’t you see? The tide is low and the sun is shining very brightly. These stars will die if they stay on the sand.
Surprised by the response, the writer argued:
-But, friend, there is a kilometer of beach and thousands of starfish, what value does what you do have? Even if I manage to save some, most of them will die.
The young man, after lovingly picking up a star in the sand and gently throwing it into the waves, responded:
-For this, what I do does have value.
That night the writer could not sleep, at dawn he returned to the beach and looked for the young man. Then the two began to collect stars and throw them into the sea.
Let’s be one of those who want to do something no matter how small it may seem to make the world better.
(SINGING)
Enjoy the little things because maybe one day you will look back and realize they were the big things. Everyone tries to achieve something big, without realizing that life is made up of small things. Be faithful in the small things and God will accompany you in the big things. The rung of a ladder was not made to rest on, but only to rest on one foot just long enough to move to the other higher up. Let’s fight for things big enough to matter, and small enough so we can win. It is not the roughness of the road that damages you, but the little stone that you carry in your shoes. Small things don’t seem like anything, but they give peace. Progress is man’s ability to be complex that which is simple. Simplicity consists of making the journey through life carrying only the necessary luggage. A river begins somewhere deep in the forest, a storm with the rustling of leaves, a fire with a spark, a wheat field with invisible seeds. Characters should be experienced in small things. When we want to know which way the wind blows, we don’t throw a stone into the air, but a feather. Human life is made up of small actions that constitute great duties. Three things are good in small quantities and bad in abundance: yeast, salt, doubt. Carry a handful of dirt every day and you will make a mountain. No symphony orchestra has ever played music like that made by a two-year-old girl when she plays with her father.
(SINGING)
The blessing for all those who live in your house and especially for those who tonight pray together the prayer of the Lord’s Prayer and the prayer of the Hail Mary, small prayers that will make love great in our lives. And may the blessing of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit descend on all of you, on all the sick who are in hospitals and homes, and on all people of good will. Amen.
(SINGING)