Book of Isaiah 45,1.4-6. Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp, Subduing nations before him, and making kings run in his service, Opening doors before him and leaving the gates unbarred: For the sake of Jacob, my servant, of Israel my chosen one, I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew me not. I am the LORD and there is no other, there is no God besides me. It is I who arm you, though you know me not, so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun men may know that there is none besides me. I am the LORD, there is no other.
Psalms 96(95) Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise! Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all you lands. Tell his glory among the nations; among all peoples, his wondrous deeds. Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise.
For great is the LORD and highly to be praised; awesome is he, beyond all gods. For all the gods of the nations are things of nought, but the LORD made the heavens. Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise.
Give to the LORD, you families of nations, give to the LORD glory and praise; give to the LORD the glory due his name! Bring gifts and enter His courts. Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise.
Worship the LORD in holy attire. Tremble before him, all the earth; Say among the nations: The LORD is king. He governs the peoples with equity. Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise.
First Letterof S. Paul to the Thessalonians 1,1-5b. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father, knowing, brothers loved by God, how you were chosen. For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the holy Spirit and with much conviction. You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 22,15-21. The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap him in speech. They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a person's status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" Knowing their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax." Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?" They replied, "Caesar's." At that he said to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
ANGELUS 18 October 2020 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning,
This Sunday’s Gospel reading ( Mt 22:15-21) shows us Jesus struggling with the hypocrisy of his adversaries. They pay him many compliments — at the beginning, many compliments — but then ask an insidious question to put him in difficulty and discredit him before the people. They ask him: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (v. 17), that is, to pay their tribute to Caesar. At that time, in Palestine, the domination of the Roman Empire was poorly tolerated — and it is understandable, they were invaders — also for religious reasons. For the people, the worship of the emperor, underscored also by his image on coins, was an insult to the God of Israel.
Jesus’ interlocutors are convinced that there is no alternative to their questioning: either a “yes" or a “no”. They were waiting, precisely because they were sure to back Jesus into a corner with this question, and to make him fall in the trap. But he knows their wickedness and avoids the pitfall. He asks them to show him the coin, the coin of the taxes, of the tribute, takes it in his hands and asks whose is the imprinted image. They answer that it is Caesar’s, that is, the Emperor's. Then Jesus replies: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (v. 21).
With this reply, Jesus places himself above the controversy. Jesus, always above. On the one hand, he acknowledges that the tribute to Caesar must be paid — for all of us too, taxes must be paid — because the image on the coin is his; but above all he recalls that each person carries within him another image — we carry it in the heart, in the soul — that of God, and therefore it is to Him, and to Him alone, that each person owes his own existence, his own life.
In this maxim of Jesus we find not only the criterion for the distinction between the political sphere and the religious sphere; clear guidelines emerge for the mission of believers of all times, even for us today. To pay taxes is a duty of citizens, as is complying with the just laws of the state. At the same time, it is necessary to affirm God’s primacy in human life and in history, respecting God’s right over all that belongs to him.
Hence the mission of the Church and Christians: to speak of God and bear witness to him to the men and women of our time. Every one of us, by Baptism, is called to be a living presence in society, inspiring it with the Gospel and with the lifeblood of the Holy Spirit. It is a question of committing oneself with humility, and at the same time with courage, making one's own contribution to building the civilization of love, where justice and fraternity reign.
May Mary Most Holy help us all to flee from all hypocrisy and to be honest and constructive citizens. And may she sustain us disciples of Christ in the mission to bear witness that God is the centre and the meaning of life.
FAUSTI - "What is Caesar's to Caesar and what is God's to God", Jesus answers the trap question they asked him. Whatever "obvious" answer he had given, He would have pulled the hoe on His feet. If he had said that he had to pay the tribute to the Roman oppressors, he would have turned against the people: if he had said not to pay, he would have turned against the authority. Your answer is not an elegant way of evading the question. Instead, you move the problem to another level. What does it mean to give to Caesar what is his and to God what is due to him? What is the relationship between the power of the "donkey" and that of the "chariots and horses"? the power of the Son of Man with that of the powerful of the world? What is Caesar's responsibility if everything belongs to God? It is important to keep two things in mind. First : God does not exhaust man from his responsibilities, He is instead the origin of them. Second: His power does not compete with ours. It is gift, love, service, not appropriation, violence and domination. The God of Israel is very different from the kings of this land, and so He wants them to be His children. From the very beginning He takes the defense of Abel: the weakest is right, not the strongest. But Cain is also his son, and he will be protected from his own violence as long as the power of violence lasts. The Christian recognizes civil authority, and respects it with loyalty in what it does good, organizing the coexistence of men. His service is from God, even if the way is not precisely so. But let there be no illusions, Caesar, the Christian is never an ally of power, but only of man. When power proposes itself as absolute and imposes a game against conscience, it will find rejection. Today this comes true, more than with people, with a system of consensus that the image on the coin, simulacrum of the beast, obtains from everyone, thanks to technology, which makes it omninvasive and omnidestructive, especially of the same consciences, from which it takes away warning and freedom. When little and big, rich and poor, free and slaves must have the mark of the beast on their foreheads and hands to enter the market, it is the moment of resistance and testimony, of perseverance and martyrdom. "What is of God to God" everything is of God. Not in the sense that He appropriates it, but that He gives it to everyone. That is why He is God! His power is known by the Son, He who has the same attitude of love and respect towards His brothers and sisters as the Father has towards Him. It is a power of meekness, gift and service. He lives with the power of violence, possession and dominion, and this conquers it without combating it, just as light conquers darkness, gift conquers robbery, love conquers selfishness. The trap that they have set for Him is actually the trap in which they themselves find themselves. In the end they will forge swords into plowshares and spears into scythes (Is 2:4). There will be no more violence and harmony will reign with all and among all (Is 11:6-9). Our history, before achieving victory over evil, will always be marked by the Cross of Righteousness. But here, already now, is the eternal life: to be a son who lives as a brother. To give to God what is God's means to live the freedom and fraternity possible here and now. The most impossible conditions lead to the purest and absolute witness: martyrdom. The Spirit will suggest to us, from time to time, what to say and do. Then we will know what to give or not to give to Caesar
-->-->Only those who give to God what is God's know what to give to Caesar. What is God's, the fruit that the Father hungers for, is the freedom of the children and the love of the brethren. Those who seek this also find the rest. Today, thanks to technology, evil is able to unfold its full potential.... The economy, under the universal sovereignty of the god mammon, is one and subjugates everything and everyone in 'injustice, perpetrated and/or suffered , ecological disaster undermines the precarious equilibriums of life; uncontrollable war power , threatens the destruction of everything. Never like today, never before has history revealed the mystery of iniquity that it conceals. What has been sown under the ground yields its ripe fruit that is neither good, beautiful nor desirable. Clearly, a change of pattern is necessary. Today we understand the significance of the beatitudes as the magna Charta of living together. They present the words of the values of the Son who lives as a brother. They are the only sensible alternative to a situation of robbery and violence. It is useful to keep in mind that for the Bible, Paradise, the dreamed garden of childhood, is the "polis," the city in which filial and fraternal relationships are lived. The believer, with clarity and courage, must engage with all people of good will to set up new and constructive relationships at all levels. Political "charity" is the highest and most urgent form of action, intended to seek and promote that which most increases solidarity and freedom among men. Jesus came to render to God what is God's and to bring back to man his freedom as a son. His power does not struggle with that of Caesar. It is simply different, like meekness from violence. He accepts living in this world, recognizing all authority in his service to society, but not accepting its basic model, which is violent and destructive. The strength of the donkey and the little donkey , peacefully, will make chariots and horses disappear (Zech 9:10). The Church, without integralisms and fundamentalisms, is the light of a world redeemed from death. It recognizes the independence and secularity of the state, but places in society the leaven and salt of the beatitudes. It must witness and foster the freedom, truth and diversity of people, in a spirit of mutual service.
Book of
RispondiEliminaIsaiah 45,1.4-6.
Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp, Subduing nations before him, and making kings run in his service, Opening doors before him and leaving the gates unbarred:
For the sake of Jacob, my servant, of Israel my chosen one, I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew me not.
I am the LORD and there is no other, there is no God besides me. It is I who arm you, though you know me not,
so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun men may know that there is none besides me. I am the LORD, there is no other.
Psalms 96(95)
Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise!
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise.
For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens.
Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise.
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
Bring gifts and enter His courts.
Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise.
Worship the LORD in holy attire.
Tremble before him, all the earth;
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He governs the peoples with equity.
Great is the Lord and worthy of all praise.
First Letterof S. Paul
to the Thessalonians 1,1-5b.
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly
calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father,
knowing, brothers loved by God, how you were chosen.
For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the holy Spirit and with much conviction. You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Matthew 22,15-21.
The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap him in speech.
They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a person's status.
Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
Knowing their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax." Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"
They replied, "Caesar's." At that he said to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
RispondiEliminaPOPE FRANCIS
ANGELUS 18 October 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning,
This Sunday’s Gospel reading ( Mt 22:15-21) shows us Jesus struggling with the hypocrisy of his adversaries. They pay him many compliments — at the beginning, many compliments — but then ask an insidious question to put him in difficulty and discredit him before the people. They ask him: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (v. 17), that is, to pay their tribute to Caesar. At that time, in Palestine, the domination of the Roman Empire was poorly tolerated — and it is understandable, they were invaders — also for religious reasons. For the people, the worship of the emperor, underscored also by his image on coins, was an insult to the God of Israel.
Jesus’ interlocutors are convinced that there is no alternative to their questioning: either a “yes" or a “no”. They were waiting, precisely because they were sure to back Jesus into a corner with this question, and to make him fall in the trap. But he knows their wickedness and avoids the pitfall. He asks them to show him the coin, the coin of the taxes, of the tribute, takes it in his hands and asks whose is the imprinted image. They answer that it is Caesar’s, that is, the Emperor's. Then Jesus replies: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (v. 21).
With this reply, Jesus places himself above the controversy. Jesus, always above. On the one hand, he acknowledges that the tribute to Caesar must be paid — for all of us too, taxes must be paid — because the image on the coin is his; but above all he recalls that each person carries within him another image — we carry it in the heart, in the soul — that of God, and therefore it is to Him, and to Him alone, that each person owes his own existence, his own life.
In this maxim of Jesus we find not only the criterion for the distinction between the political sphere and the religious sphere; clear guidelines emerge for the mission of believers of all times, even for us today. To pay taxes is a duty of citizens, as is complying with the just laws of the state. At the same time, it is necessary to affirm God’s primacy in human life and in history, respecting God’s right over all that belongs to him.
Hence the mission of the Church and Christians: to speak of God and bear witness to him to the men and women of our time. Every one of us, by Baptism, is called to be a living presence in society, inspiring it with the Gospel and with the lifeblood of the Holy Spirit. It is a question of committing oneself with humility, and at the same time with courage, making one's own contribution to building the civilization of love, where justice and fraternity reign.
May Mary Most Holy help us all to flee from all hypocrisy and to be honest and constructive citizens. And may she sustain us disciples of Christ in the mission to bear witness that God is the centre and the meaning of life.
FAUSTI - "What is Caesar's to Caesar and what is God's to God", Jesus answers the trap question they asked him. Whatever "obvious" answer he had given, He would have pulled the hoe on His feet. If he had said that he had to pay the tribute to the Roman oppressors, he would have turned against the people: if he had said not to pay, he would have turned against the authority.
RispondiEliminaYour answer is not an elegant way of evading the question.
Instead, you move the problem to another level.
What does it mean to give to Caesar what is his and to God what is due to him?
What is the relationship between the power of the "donkey" and that of the "chariots and horses"? the power of the Son of Man with that of the powerful of the world? What is Caesar's responsibility if everything belongs to God?
It is important to keep two things in mind.
First : God does not exhaust man from his responsibilities, He is instead the origin of them.
Second: His power does not compete with ours.
It is gift, love, service, not appropriation, violence and domination.
The God of Israel is very different from the kings of this land, and so He wants them to be His children.
From the very beginning He takes the defense of Abel: the weakest is right, not the strongest. But Cain is also his son, and he will be protected from his own violence as long as the power of violence lasts.
The Christian recognizes civil authority, and respects it with loyalty in what it does good, organizing the coexistence of men. His service is from God, even if the way is not precisely so.
But let there be no illusions, Caesar, the Christian is never an ally of power, but only of man.
When power proposes itself as absolute and imposes a game against conscience, it will find rejection.
Today this comes true, more than with people, with a system of consensus that the image on the coin, simulacrum of the beast, obtains from everyone, thanks to technology, which makes it omninvasive and omnidestructive, especially of the same consciences, from which it takes away warning and freedom.
When little and big, rich and poor, free and slaves must have the mark of the beast on their foreheads and hands to enter the market, it is the moment of resistance and testimony, of perseverance and martyrdom.
"What is of God to God" everything is of God.
Not in the sense that He appropriates it, but that He gives it to everyone. That is why He is God!
His power is known by the Son, He who has the same attitude of love and respect towards His brothers and sisters as the Father has towards Him. It is a power of meekness, gift and service. He lives with the power of violence, possession and dominion, and this conquers it without combating it, just as light conquers darkness, gift conquers robbery, love conquers selfishness.
The trap that they have set for Him is actually the trap in which they themselves find themselves.
In the end they will forge swords into plowshares and spears into scythes (Is 2:4).
There will be no more violence and harmony will reign with all and among all (Is 11:6-9).
Our history, before achieving victory over evil, will always be marked by the Cross of Righteousness. But here, already now, is the eternal life: to be a son who lives as a brother.
To give to God what is God's means to live the freedom and fraternity possible here and now.
The most impossible conditions lead to the purest and absolute witness: martyrdom.
The Spirit will suggest to us, from time to time, what to say and do.
Then we will know what to give or not to give to Caesar
-->-->Only those who give to God what is God's know what to give to Caesar.
RispondiEliminaWhat is God's, the fruit that the Father hungers for, is the freedom of the children and the love of the brethren.
Those who seek this also find the rest.
Today, thanks to technology, evil is able to unfold its full potential....
The economy, under the universal sovereignty of the god mammon, is one and subjugates everything and everyone
in 'injustice, perpetrated and/or suffered , ecological disaster undermines the precarious equilibriums of life;
uncontrollable war power , threatens the destruction of everything. Never like today, never before has history revealed the mystery of iniquity that it conceals. What has been sown under the ground yields its ripe fruit that is neither good, beautiful nor desirable. Clearly, a change of pattern is necessary.
Today we understand the significance of the beatitudes as the magna Charta of living together.
They present the words of the values of the Son who lives as a brother. They are the only sensible alternative to a situation of robbery and violence.
It is useful to keep in mind that for the Bible, Paradise, the dreamed garden of childhood, is the "polis," the city in which filial and fraternal relationships are lived.
The believer, with clarity and courage, must engage with all people of good will to set up new and constructive relationships at all levels.
Political "charity" is the highest and most urgent form of action, intended to seek and promote that which most increases solidarity and freedom among men.
Jesus came to render to God what is God's and to bring back to man his freedom as a son.
His power does not struggle with that of Caesar. It is simply different, like meekness from violence. He accepts living in this world, recognizing all authority in his service to society, but not accepting its basic model, which is violent and destructive.
The strength of the donkey and the little donkey , peacefully, will make chariots and horses disappear (Zech 9:10).
The Church, without integralisms and fundamentalisms, is the light of a world redeemed from death. It recognizes the independence and secularity of the state, but places in society the leaven and salt of the beatitudes. It must witness and foster the freedom, truth and diversity of people, in a spirit of mutual service.