Allocution Sunday April 18, third Sunday of Easter
Thank you to everyone who makes this radio broadcast possible, today Sunday, April 18, third Sunday of Easter. We hear the gospel according to Saint Luke, chapter 24, verses 35 to 48.
(GOSPEL)
Once the apostles saw the resurrected Christ, their doubts were cleared, they lost their fear, they were filled with immense joy, they felt the closeness of Jesus. He began to eat with them and opened their understanding so that they could understand the Scriptures.
To be filled with the joy of the Risen Lord we must understand the Scriptures, the Holy Bible, the New Testament.
For them we read the Word of God and follow the so-called Lectio divina or Divine Reading.
The New Testament and Psalms of the Bible of Our People, which the Archbishopric of Havana can give you as a gift, tells us how to perform Lectio divina or Divine Reading.
1st step: Attentive, slow reading of the biblical text. After reading we ask ourselves and respond with our words: What does the text say?
2nd step: Based on what I have read and reflected on, what do I say to God?
3rd step: After talking to God, what to do from now on?
Like the deacons, the Holy Spirit tells us today: Receive the Gospel of Christ, of which you have been made a messenger, convert into living faith what you read and what you have made, teach it and fulfill what you have taught. This Lectio divina or Divine Reading can be done personally or as a family.
If you can and wish, write down these four steps and send them to the Archbishopric, whose address is Habana 152 corner of Chacón.
(SONG)
So that our joy in understanding the words of the Risen Lord may increase, we eat with Him, just as the apostles ate with Christ. The mass is a banquet. When you can, participate in the mass banquet or when you pass by a church, ask for communion. Thus we unite ourselves to Christ and we can say like Saint Paul: I live, but not I, it is Christ who lives in me. And when difficulties and problems come we will act with the joy of the Risen Christ.
(SONG)
Pope Francis, in the audience on April 14, teaches us:
“Holy women and men do not have an easier life than others, in fact, they also have their problems to face and, in addition, they are often the object of opposition. But their strength is prayer, which they always draw from the inexhaustible ‘well’ of Mother Church. With prayer they feed the flame of their faith, as was done with the oil of the lamps. And so they go forward walking in faith and hope. The saints, who often count for little in the eyes of the world, are actually the ones who support it, not with the weapons of money and power, the media, etc., but with the weapons of prayer.
”Therefore, we can conclude that the lamp of faith will always be lit on the earth as long as the oil of prayer is present. The lamp of the true faith of the Church will always be lit on earth as long as the oil of prayer is present. It is that which carries faith forward and carries forward our poor, weak, sinful life, but prayer carries it forward safely. It is a question that we Christians have to ask ourselves: do I pray? We pray? How do I pray? How do I parrot or pray with my heart? How do I pray? Do I pray sure that I am in the Church and pray with the Church, or do I pray a little according to my ideas and make my ideas become prayer? This is a pagan prayer, not a Christian. I repeat: we can conclude that the lamp of faith will always be lit on earth as long as the oil of prayer is present.
”And this is an essential task of the Church: to pray and educate to pray. Pass on from generation to generation the lamp of faith with the oil of prayer. The lamp of faith that illuminates, that organizes things as they really are, but that can move forward only with the oil of prayer. Otherwise it turns off. Without the light of this lamp, we will not be able to see the way to evangelize, in fact, we will not be able to see the way to believe well; We will not be able to see the faces of the brothers to approach and serve; We will not be able to illuminate the room where we can meet in community… Without faith, everything collapses; and without prayer, faith goes out. Faith and prayer, together. There is no other way. For this reason the Church, which is a home and school of communion, is a home and school of faith and prayer.”
Perhaps in our house our grandparents keep the oil lamp that they lit to pray for the family, the sick and the deceased. We, every night, light that oil lamp and pray, giving thanks for the joys that occurred during the day.
Together with the Church that prays continuously in these 50 days of Easter, let us say and sing Hallelujah.
Hallelujah is the contraction of two Hebrew words that mean: Praise God.
(SONG)
-We thank you, Father God, for the pregnant women in the family, for the growing love of husbands, for the beautiful old people who accompany us, for the restless children, for the young people full of hope, for all those neighbors who help us selflessly. .
Hallelujah.
-We thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, because you walk with us, even though we do not see you, nor do we realize that you are in the midst of our sorrows and joys.
Hallelujah.
-We thank you, Holy Spirit, because you enlighten us to teach our children and grandchildren that love, harmony, peace, and joy are the greatest riches of our families.
Hallelujah.
-We thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for giving us as Mother the Virgin of Charity. She brings together all her Cuban children and makes us brothers.
Hallelujah.
-We thank you, good Father God, because you encourage us to treat our patients with immense affection.
Hallelujah.
-We thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, because you have promised us that the good done in this life by our deceased, God the Father will reward in eternal life.
Hallelujah.
-And we thank you because the Holy Spirit strengthens us so that the inheritance of honesty, faith, and family unity that our deceased bequeathed to us remains present in our families.
Hallelujah.
(SONG)
Since we are the image and likeness of God, within each of us there is wisdom.
The people, formed by us, have popular wisdom and through proverbs they teach us a lot.
God’s people tell us about joy.
Joy comes down from heaven, sadness comes up from hell.
Joy, God gives it and the devil takes it away.
Of all the goods God sends, the most estimable is joy.
Joy is the greatest good in life.
Joy is a treasure worth more than gold.
Happy heart, knows how to make fire from snow.
Better a happy day with half a loaf than a sad one with a pheasant.
Without joy, living would be hell.
Without joy, I want neither honor nor money.
An hour of joy is a year of good life.
An ounce of joy is worth a hundred quintals of melancholy.
Without joy, there would be no pleasure at all.
Joy is bred in a healthy soul.
Joy comes from a clear conscience.
Whoever has joy, has a good life.
Cheerful heart, healthy man.
Joy extends life.
Joy is great medicine, but it is not sold in the pharmacy.
Joy rejuvenates, sadness ages.
In this windy world, he who is happy is rich.
You will see more joy among poor people than among rich people.
He who lives happily, has plenty of fortune.
If you live happily, you are rich.
Riches and honors? Nuisance. There is no greater good than joy.
(SONG)
Next Sunday, April 25, the Church celebrates the World Day of Prayer for Vocations to the priesthood, the diaconate, and the life of nuns.
The Pope asks them to dream and realize their dreams, to serve with generous dedication and to be joyfully faithful like Saint Joseph.
If you can and wish, send them a congratulatory letter or message to the Archbishopric of Havana, whose address is Calle Habana no. 152, corner of Chacón, or by calling 78624000.
These are the names of the seminarians from Havana: Adrián Arriera Fernández, Yordanis Alfonso Pérez, Ricardo Rodríguez Gómez, Luis Ángel Acosta Pérez, José Luis Sánchez Escalona, Alennis Rodríguez López, Juan Carlos Pañellas Álvarez, Andy Aguilar Abreu, Dyan Eduardo Rivero del Valle and Diosvany Yera Suárez.
Pray for them, they will be your future priests.
(SONG)
May the blessing of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit descend upon all the sick who are in hospitals and remain forever. Amen.
(SONG)