Today, Sunday thirty of the liturgical ordinary time reads in all the Catholic churches of the world the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 22, verses 34–40.
Reading the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 22, 34-40
At that time, the Pharisees, hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, gathered in one place and one of them, a doctor of the law, asked him to put him to
Test:
“Master, what is the main commandment of the law?”
He said:
‘You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind.’
This commandment is the principal and first. The second is similar to him:
‘You will love your neighbor as yourself.’
These two commandments sustain the whole Law and the Prophets.”
We thank God for so many people who go to Mass every Sunday of the year.
We thank God for all the families who, together with all who live in the house, bless food at lunch and food and pray together before bed.
We thank God for all the grandmothers who teach catechism to their grandchildren.
We thank God for the bride and groom who read, comment, pray, and live the gospel of every day.
We thank God for all those who, as they go to work and classes, when they pass in front of a temple, enter and kneel before the Blessed Sacrament and present their smiles and tears to them.
We thank God for the church La Milagrosa, in Santo Suarez, which keeps its doors open from seven in the morning until seven o’clock at night.
These people love the Lord God with all their heart, with all their souls and with all their minds.
(CANTO)
We thank God for the husbands who celebrate 25, 50, 75 years of marriage. What love for one’s neighbour!
We thank God for pregnant mothers who bear the joy of their blessed fruit, speak with their blessed fruit, caress their blessed fruit, and defend him as lionesses.
We thank God for the tireless mothers of disabled children, whom they treat as true princes and princesses.
We thank God for the daughters who keep the sheets of their moms and dads prostrate in bed white.
We thank God for doctors, nurses, health workers, who suffer with their sick and fight hard for health.
We thank God for the employees who treat us fondly and overcome difficulties in serving us.
We thank God for the Daughters of Charity in El Rincón, The Golden Age and Bejucal. We thank God for the Little Sisters of the Homeless Elders in Santovenia and St. Teresa Jornet. We thank God for the Seervas of San José in Miramar. We thank God for the Religious of Mary Immaculate in domestic service. We thank God for the Brothers of St. John of God in San Rafael and San Juan de Dios. We thank God for the Sisters of Martha and Mary in the home of the elderly parents. And we also thank God for the young and old who help these nuns and these brethren in their attention to those in these holy places.
We thank God for people in conflict who seek peaceful solutions.
We thank God for our deceased who bequeathed to us an inheritance of faith, honesty, family harmony, helpfulness, and true love for others. What an example of love for Jesus Christ present in these people!
(CANTO)
A marriage made up of the expert Philip and the beautiful Chabela, lived in a country house. They were happy. They led a quiet life and loved each other very much. One day a terrible accident happened in the kitchen. As the woman prepared the food, the frying pan caught fire. The flames covered the woman’s arms, hands and face. Hearing the screams, the husband came running. He did his best to put out the flames, which he achieved, not without first getting himself badly hurt.
Both were immediately taken to a hospital, where they were admitted to the intensive care unit.
When she regained consciousness and knew what had happened, Chabela was greatly affected. As much as he asked for a mirror, the nurses wouldn’t give it to him. Fearing the worst, one day he managed to leave his room and enter another that was empty. There, in the bathroom, she looked in the mirror, and was horrified! I was totally disfigured! It was said that he didn’t want to live anymore. She would never again be the beautiful woman who had so impressed her husband, and determined to go far away from him.
A few days later, the husband was discharged. The first thing he did was visit his wife. Since the doctors had explained to her the state in which she was going to find her, he thought, “I have to take great care of her, because she will be very tormented; with how happy he looked with his beautiful face…” So he entered her room, trolling with a cane, and confessed to him:
“My dear, how I have missed you! Thank God, I’ve been told you’re recovering quickly. As for me, I’m fine. It’s true that the fire affected my eyes and I’ve gone blind, but the important thing is that we’re both alive and we have each other. You don’t mind if I can’t see you, love, because I’ll always have the beauty of your face etched in my heart. Are you all right, my love?”
– I’m fine, love! She said softly.
Saddened by what had happened to her husband, she thought, “How sad that I am blind, though you will not be able to see how deformed I have been. As for me, I have to be strong… because he needs me.” That day banished forever the desire to leave.
When the wife was discharged, she and her husband returned home. They had to make a lot of efforts to adapt to the new situation, but they succeeded, and helping each other, lived many years together and were very happy.
When the woman passed away, her friends went to condolences to the husband. Then they saw that he was walking without the need for the cane he had carried from that distant day of the accident; friends thought, “What is this, a miracle?”
At the time of farewell, the husband approached the body of his beloved wife, kissed and stroked his face and said quietly, “How beautiful are you, my love! I love you so much! I’ll never forget you!”
One of the friends dared to ask what everyone thought: “What happened? Was there a miracle? How do you see again?”
Philip replied, “I was never blind.”
Every wife asks her husband: Do you love me like Philip to Chabela?
(CANTO)
We pray to the Father of all who makes us brothers and sisters.
(Our Father)
We pray to Our Lady, Mother who burdens all her children and joins us in the great family of Cubans.
(Hail Mary)
On Wednesday, October 28th we read the Letter of St. Jude and send the most striking phrase to the Archbishopric.
And the blessing of Almighty God, Father Son and Holy Spirit descend upon you and remain forever. Amen.
(CANTO)
Below we offer in full the allocution of the Cardinal and Archbishop of Havana, Archbishop Juan de la Caridad García.
Be the first to comment