Homily for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B Daniel 12:1-3/Psalm 16/ Hebrews 10:11-14, 18/Mark 13:24-32 Theme: Eschatology presupposes judgment

Christianity is eschatological from beginning to end. Eschatology is that branch of theology that deals with the last or final things namely Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. The entire salvation history and our entire lives are oriented towards ultimate fulfillment in Christ who will recapitulate everything in himself. We are an eschatological people. That means we are marching towards Christ who was not only in the beginning (“In the beginning was the Word.” John 1:1), but towards Christ who awaits us in the end ("I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” Revelation 1:8). The first reading and the gospel invite us to discover the signs of the coming of a new world. The second reading compares the priesthood of Christ with that of the Old Covenant in which Jesus, the High Priest, has offered once and for all the sacrifice that has wrought our salvation. The gospel reading reminds us that the end times will be preceded by deception. So deceptive will be these miracles that even the elect will be tempted to believe their lies. Of themselves, miracles are not a proof of divine calling and approval (Deuteronomy 13:1-5). The final test is the Word of God. Jesus did not want his disciples to get involved in the prophecies of the future that they will neglect the responsibilities of the present. As Christian believers today, we are not looking for "signs" of his coming. But we depend on his unchanging "Word" the sure Word of his prophecy We end this liturgical year with gratitude towards God for all of his many blessings. It gives us confidence as we remember that as the Liturgical Year ends, so too does life. The end of earthly life means a definitive destination which can never be altered once judgment has been passed. Rather than inspire servile fear, this truth should inspire us to “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that (we) will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God,” (Colossians 1:9-10). Such is the task of every Christian: to discover, embrace and fulfill the will of God, being moved by love for him and acting in a way that pleases him. The lot of those who tend to God’s will is union of love with God; albeit in faith in this life, and in the splendor of glory in the next. We have done nothing to merit this because it has been won for us once and for all by Christ. Christ, “having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet. For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Second Reading). Therefore, having been cleansed of our sins and clothed in grace we are invited to cooperate with his grace in such a way as to merit it. Jesus who once came in poverty and meekness will come as Judge at the end of time. He will come in power and majesty gathering the fruits of his labor and Blood. He will be our Judge and will judge us as he himself has said, according to our love: “Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited me in; Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:35-35, 40). Love will examine us on love. If theological charity reigns in our hearts we have nothing to fear. Mary Magdalene was forgiven much because she loved much (see Luke 7:47). The greater and deeper our love, the more effective it will efface all the sins and miseries we have heaped up in this life, despite our good intentions. “Love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). In his beautiful book Living Flame St. John of the Cross tells us “For this reason it is a great thing for our soul to exercise itself constantly in love, so that, being perfected here below, it may not stay long, either in this world or in the next, without seeing God face to face” (I, 34). When we are ardently in love with God and his love possesses us, we suffer anxiousness for heaven and God’s face so as to love him without any veil or separation. Only an intense love such as that can prepare the way for union with God, either here or in heaven. If we take God’s precept of charity – and that means taking seriously and living the Gospel – then we have fulfilled his will and may be admitted into beatific union of heaven. If we live his will as our strongest passion and desire his glory, then we have nothing to fear on Judgment Day, for our judgment will be the eternal joy of God’s embrace. In conclusion, " No night is so long and dark that it has no dawn." In the life of the Church, of the world, of a nation, of every man or woman, no situation is so bad that it does not contain signs of hope. Not even the worst thing that can happen to us namely sin can be a cause of discouragement to us, because Christ has already overpowered it. With Christ’s resurrection, salvation history has entered its final phase, the harbinger of fulfillment. The promises God has made will be seen in their fulfillment and the new heaven and new earth will be inaugurated. In Christ, God has said his final word. In us the Holy Spirit has been poured through baptism, which is the seed of eternal life. But before eternal life can come, each of us must pass through judgment. Today’s readings treat of the universal judgment at the end of time.

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B 1 Kings 17:10-16/Psalm 146/Hebrews 9:24-28/ Mark 12:38-44 Theme: Religion that is pure

In two weeks time, the Church will celebrate the Feast of Christ the King marking the end of the Liturgical Year. Already, Holy Mother, the Church, reminds us of what is demanded of us in order for us to joyously embrace the kingship of Christ. The Church’s liturgy today, presents us with two poor widows. In the First Reading, we see an example of charity and detachment in the kind woman who gives Elijah the last of her food. She is recompensed with a miracle. The humble generosity of the second widow, unawares, receives praise without equal from Christ. Their poverty of heart and generous services are all the more moving contrasted by the pompous and self-serving example of other, far poorer souls:“the Scribes who eat up the households of widows” and seek the first places in synagogues. In the first reading of today, we encounter the story of the widow of Zarephath, an example of total self-giving so that Elijah might live. The Prophet Elijah not only demanded for a drink but the only livelihood of the widow and her son when he says, " Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me and afterwards make something for yourself and your son ( 1Kings 17:13). It is worthy of note that Elijah not only made the demand of food but assured the widow of God's providence by telling her that "For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: the jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth (1 Kings 17: 14). Faith in the words of the Prophet sends the widow off to give her all. Remember that she was a pagan and yet she believed the words of the Prophet. Therefore, in her total self-giving a miracle happens; she gets in return something that will sustain her a life time. It is this poverty of Spirit that Jesus presents to us in the gospel reading of today. Jesus begins his story by reminding us that true religion does not consists in outward show of piety like wearing beautiful clothes and wanting always to sit at places of honor at banquets. Neither is true religion being praised by people nor people bowing to us for what we have or own. True religion consists in this " ...to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world" (James 1:27). The point of the gospel reading is that not only do the Scribes always try to appear pious and occupy places of honor at banquets, they appear rich and gorgeous because " They devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers" ( Mark 12: 40). In other words, Jesus is saying that they have become rich because they keep exploiting the widows at their advantage. If you know that the Jewish was patriarchal or male dominated in nature, you will appreciate the untold hardships women go through when they lose their husbands. What truly makes us Christians? Is it our dressing; our status in society; our exploitation of the poor, susceptible and vulnerable? Jesus demonstrates to us that he is closed to the broken hearted in order to rescue them from the snares of the fowler. Like he watches those who put money in the treasury and realizes that the rich gave out of their abundance, Jesus' attention goes to the poor widow who gave out of her scarce resources. In fact, she gave her all. There is always the temptation to please people around us and in order to maintain the status quo, we do not care about how we acquire our wealth these days. Jesus invites us to please him rather than men because he is our ticket to heaven. What will make us practice true religion? This is the question the second reading seeks to answer. Jesus' death on the Cross is the only sacrifice acceptable to God his Father. Indeed, our prayers and thanksgiving add nothing to God's greatness but only makes us to grow in holiness. Jesus demonstrates on the cross that true religion consists in dying for others; sacrificing our comfort so that others can find joy and peace. It is appointed for mortals to die once and after that judgment. May the fear of the Lord work in us in such a way that it frees us from the bondage of sin by extinguishing in us the disordered desire for created things, which is the principal cause of sin. In urging us to detachment from things, it also impels us to rid ourselves of selfish desires, vain thoughts and even our worries. In our fear of the Lord, we learn to scorn worldly honors and praise. We learn to order our appreciation for human affection and see it as something which should only lead us to God. With fear of the Lord we learn to despise comfort and possessions, not because they are evil, but because God is much better and we possess him to the extent to which we dispossess ourselves of created things. Our separation from God begins when these things become ends in themselves. The Holy Spirit only spurs us on to holiness, never to mediocrity. Therefore, he urges us to material poverty: to be content with little, always curbing our desires. Further, he urges us on to poverty of spirit which means freedom from even that which we possess, without which, the former is worthless. John of the Cross says, “The lack of things implies no detachment on the part of the soul if it retains a desire for them, that is, if it is still attached to them … The things of this world neither occupy the soul nor cause it harm, since they do not enter it, but rather the will and the desire for them, for it is these that dwell within” (Ascent of Mount Carmel, I, 3, 4). The prudent man who builds his spiritual life on the solid rock of Christ has no attachments even to moral and spiritual goods such as interior consolations. Consolations are not God, for God is not a feeling. His activity in the soul might occasion consolation but we should be honest with him and ourselves remembering that his consolations are not to be confused with him. Therefore, we should be detached even from those good things he allows us. Just as we should not seek our happiness in human love alone, nor should we seek from God anything outside of him. Poverty of spirit consists of being stripped and empty of all pretensions so that we are not encumbered on our path to God. Contrary to human prudence, here lies our happiness. In sum, the beatitude promised to all who are brave enough, or better said, humble enough, to take to the road of poverty of spirit ends in full possession of God, even in this life. God has destined us for him in heaven, but we should not see it as part II of an existence begun on earth. The Holy Spirit desires to lead us to full possession of God here and now. According to the degree of our docility to his interior movements we will possess him and be possessed by him and to that degree, enjoy the beatitude promised to the poor in spirit

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B Deuteronomy 6:2-6/Psalm 18/Hebrews 7:23-28/Mark 12:28-34 THEME: Love is our essence

Today’s First Reading introduces us to the beginning of the great Shemá ("Hear, o Israel"), the prayer Jews recite three times a day. This prayer contains the most basic tenets of Judaism: belief in one God (v. 4) and obedience to him in love (v. 5). For the Jewish mind, "hear" brings with it the sense of “obey!” Finally, it reminds them of the covenant God made with them (vv. 10-12). In the Old Testament, love for God and for neighbor were separate entities. Christ, however, unites them. For the love active in Christians is not simply human love, but theological charity which has two subjects, the human and the divine. In the Old Testament, loving obedience as demanded of the sons of Israel and the love expected of them was not universal. It stopped with their enemies. Certainly, Leviticus stipulates love of neighbor (see 19:18) but as has been made clear, it was not always clear who one’s neighbor was (“Who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:29). Christ’s appearance brings a new reality to the fore. The love God expects of us for himself and for others is the same love. Such love is the key and the summit of the New Law. According to the New Law, love for God implies unyielding love for neighbor, and is, indeed, the proof of love’s authenticity, “since a man who does not love the brother he can see he cannot love God, whom he cannot see” (1 John 4:20). Charity in Christian life becomes the content and the realization of every moral demand (Galatians 4:14; Romans 13:8 ff.; Colossians 3:14). It is the fullness of the Law and God’s commandments (John 15:12; 1 John 5) as well as the multifaceted proof of authentic faith, for “faith without works is a dead faith” (James 2:16), and “what matters is faith that makes its power felt through love” (Galatians 5:6). It could not be clearer. True faith in God results in a flourishing of charity towards him and, subsequently, to everyone else. Christian love is not about being a philanthropist or “being nice.” It is a theological reality which has two subjects: God who dwells in the person in a state of grace, and man working together in one enterprise. Its model is God, made visible in Jesus Christ. Imitation of Christ’s love is our universal vocation and path to holiness. His love was and is universal (see Matthew 5:44; Ephesians 5:1ff; 1 John 4:11 ff.), but it is above all a theological reality in its source: God’s indwelling in our souls, which makes it possible for God to love through us. Only in God’s grace, only in communion of life with God can we realistically expect to fulfill his commandments (not suggestions, by the way) “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36), “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48), “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13: 34). One might ask if love can be “commanded.” It is a valid question answered by our Holy Father: “Love can be ‘commanded’ because it has first been given” (Deus Caritas Est., 14). The link between love for God and love for neighbor is central, therefore, to our following Christ. Just as this concept might be difficult to grasp, so it is just as difficult to put it into practice. Every epoch of Church history has shown us how we run the risk of partially veiling one love as if it were in favor of the other love. We often hear the call to “brotherly love” and sometimes the call of unyielding love – personal love – for God is understood as being included simply in the act of “brotherly love.” But if conscious love for God is not foremost, then the love for our brothers ceases to be divine. And we are capable of little more than well meaning philanthropy. Divine love unites us to God and makes us abide in him as he abides in us (see 1 John 4:16). It is the created participation in the infinite love with which God loves himself: the love which the Father gives his Son, the love which the Son returns to him, and by which each loves the other in the Holy Spirit. Divine love is our introduction into a Trinitarian existence, inserting us into God’s movement of love within the bosom of the Blessed Trinity. Having been inducted into active participation in Trinitarian life, we are enabled to share in the infinite love of the divine Persons. Friendship with God is not casual but all consuming. Charity towards neighbor is fruit of this divine dynamism within us. God’s invitation to intimacy demands reciprocal love. He has gone before us and loved us first, infusing his own life into us and thus enabling us to love infinitely. Correspondence with this grace requires purity of heart, mind and body. This purity is not limited to the area of Christian chastity – to which we are all called – but an even more subtle purity of intention. Thomas Aquinas says, “God is the motive for loving one’s neighbor, which proves that the act by which we love God is the same as that by which we love our neighbor,” (S. Th. II-II, q. 25, a. 1). In other words, love purified by grace precludes using people or self-seeking in human relations. Far from seeing others as objects we see them as objects of God’s infinite love who merit nothing less from us. In spite of his faults, in spite of the annoyance and difficulties he may cause us, our vocation calls us to look beyond all that and see the big picture: God in my neighbor. It is a good idea to ask ourselves why we do not love the people we should love. But perhaps even more telling is the question of why we love the people we profess to love. If my love for somebody is based on how he treats me, on what he thinks of me, on what he does for me, or whatever human qualities he might have that I especially appreciate, then we can be sure that this is not divine love, but merely human love. “For if you love those who love you, what rewards have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:46-48). Again St. Thomas says “Love of neighbor is not meritorious if the neighbor is not loved because of God” (S. Th. II-II, q. 27, a.8). What does it mean when a person is "not far from the kingdom of God"? It means he or she is facing truth honestly and is not interested in defending an ideology or even personal prejudices. It means the person is testing his or her faith by what the Word of God says and not by what some religious group demands. People close to the kingdom have the courage to stand up for what is true even if they lose some friends and make some new enemies. This is what love is all about. Our love of neighbor must transcend all barriers even if it means making enemies. In his encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est"' Pope Benedict XVI, says "Love of neighbour, grounded in love of God, as well as being a responsibility for each individual member of the faithful, is also a responsibility for the entire Ecclesial Community, which must reflect Trinitarian love in its charitable activity." It is, of course, important that the Church's charitable activity does not lose its own identity and become just another form of social assistance, but that it maintain all the splendour of the essence of Christian and ecclesial charity. In conclusion, it is easy to deceive ourselves, thinking we have great charity because we are generous to those we naturally love. If we really want our love to be divine, we have to transcend the natural and contemplate our neighbor from the perspective of God’s love, thus loving him in relation to God and because of God. Only in this way will our love be authentically theological

Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B Jeremiah 31:7-9/ Psalm 126/Hebrews 5:1-6/Mark 10:46-52 THEME: a God who intervenes

The liturgical texts this Sunday emphasize the efficacy of God’s intervention. God is effective by making numerous children of Israel return from exile to their beloved homeland (First Reading). With God’s effective power, Jesus Christ restores sight to the blind man Bartimaeus, who overcomes all obstacles and thus fulfils his great desire to see (Gospel). God’s salvific efficacy is made especially manifest in Christ, the High Priest, who saves human beings from ignorance and pain, and frees them from their sins. In every age and time, God has never ceased intervening in the life of His people. His loving presence is always felt by those who recognize their need for him. In first reading of today the Israelites were living in exile after being conquered by the Assyrians in 721 B.C. After many years of being away, they are allowed to return to their native land at the hand of God who delivers them. This return is a good news and reason to shout for joy (31:7). God never forgets his people and He intervenes in the lives of the remnant. That God intervenes in the life of those who recognize their need for him cannot be over-emphasised for the Lord invites the Israelites to " Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob... Give praise and say, 'save o Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel" (Jeremiah 31:7). The mention of remnant presupposes that even in the most useless situations, God never forgets his covenant with his people. Indeed, God's own hands will lead them back to their own soil whether healthy or strong, whether those in labour or with child, God's promise never ceases no matter our situations. Then he assures them that He Himself will lead them back for He says, " ...I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I have become a father to Israel" (Jeremiah 31:9). The readings of today give us clearly three prerequisites of God’s intervention in our lives namely: 1) Every Christian is called to believe and hope. Those who had been exiled from Babylon could not forget God’s wonders in the history of their people. God had shown the strength of his hand in the Exodus and in the conquest of the Promised Land. They believe and trust that God will once again act effectively in their favor, although they do not know when or how. Bartimaeus has immense faith in the fact that Jesus, the Messiah and the descendant of David, can cure him of his blindness. This is why he cries out fearlessly and boldly, "Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me." The Jews believed that God had granted the High Priest, on the feast of Yom Kippur, the power to forgive the sins of all the people. And we Christians believe with absolute certainty that Jesus Christ, our High Priest, destroyed the world’s sins on the Cross. It is impossible for God to manifest his power in those who do not believe in it. 2) we are called to recognise our need for God. The Jews in exile knew perfectly well that they could not get back home on their own. Bartimaeus was very aware that he could do nothing to recover his sight. We Christians and Jews are convinced that only God can forgive sins. The self-sufficient do not feel the need for God’s power, and will never be able to be the witnesses of his efficacy in people’s lives and in history. 3) Be consistent in your need for God. If we accept God’s power in our life, we must accept being consistent with its requirements. In other words, as Christians we must be a sort of shop window displaying God’s effective action in us. The Jews exiled from Babylon started walking towards Palestine and Bartimaeus followed Jesus on his way to Jerusalem. Christians have not only been redeemed by Christ, the High Priest, but they also live as redeemed beings; enjoy your freedom in Christ and stop being a wanderer in your Father's house. Lord, let me see again! Bartimaeus, the blind man, is the figure and symbol of the disciples of Jesus at that historical time in which Jesus passed through Jericho, and at all times. Confronted with the mystery of the Cross and of ignominious death, we Christians often experience Bartimaeus´ blindness, his drifting, his poverty. "Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting at the side of the road." There are so many Bartimaeuses in our time, in the face of the great mystery of pain and innocent suffering! There is a lot of blindness in human beings when confronted with the injustice of suffering, as if suffering weren´t the apex of human perfection. Many of us are very cautious when confronted with the idea of walking with Christ towards the city of pain and death. We remain motionless in the territory of our ego, we lack the will to start walking towards the land of other people´s pain. We are in need, in great need of someone - or better yet Someone - to open our eyes and drag us out of our immobility. After all what is the purpose of having eyes that cannot see? A Christian is one who is not afraid to suffer; he says "yes" to health and well-being, to suffering and tribulations. The "yes" of the Christian is a "yes" to the mystery of God's Love, and for those who love God, all things contribute to their good. May the Lord allow all of us Christians to repeat often, "Lord, let me see again!" So that by seeing I may believe, and by believing I may firmly follow your footsteps towards the Cross. In conclusion, he who believes in Christ and follows in his footsteps is a Christian. The following of Christ is not the following of a doctrine like that of Pythagoras, of Aristotle or of Zeno. One who follows a way of life traced out in ancient manuscripts, following the great moral teachers of the East and West, is not a Christian. The Christian follows a person, the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Moreover, the Christian is one who lends Jesus Christ his human nature, so that the Lord can make himself present in today´s world. In other words, being a Christian is being the transparent image of Christ for others. Are we Christians a transparent image of Christ? Are you a transparent image of Christ in your family, in your parish, among your friends? Or are you a disfigured image of Jesus Christ? Taking our Christian vocation seriously has been a historical imperative from the beginning of Christianity. What can I do to be a transparent image of Christ in every place and circumstance? Let us build a chain of transparent images of Christ so that the world, our world, may be saved by the one and only Savior.

Homily for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B Isaiah 53:10-11/Psalm 33/ Hebrews 4:14-16/ Mark 10:35-45 THEME: Serve to redeem

The expression "to serve in order to redeem" summarizes the essential contents of today´s liturgy. "Anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all," Jesus tells us in the Gospel. Jesus outshines us all in service, embodying within himself the figure of the servant of Yahweh, despised, the lowest of men, a person of sorrows, familiar with suffering, who gives himself in expiation (First Reading). He is also the figure of the High Priest who is not incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us, who has been put to the test and is the same as we ourselves, apart from sin (Second Reading). The first reading is fourth of the Servant Songs of the prophet Isaiah which forms part of the larger section of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 also called the book of Consolation. Sometimes, it is hard for us to accept the will of God in moments of adversity. In the case of the Suffering Servant, “... it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain” (Isaiah 53:10a). What was the purpose? “So that through him, the will of God will prosper (v.10b). This song declares that the servant intercedes for others, bearing their punishments and afflictions. In the end, he was rewarded with an exalted position. As if that was not enough, in his suffering, he will find satisfaction because his suffering will make many righteous. Not only did he bear their iniquities. In this Servant Song, we are presented with one who willingly accepts suffering because of his people. His joy is that his action brings joy and hope to his people. Power presupposes service. This is at the very heart of Jesus teachings. He is the Suffering Servant presented to us in the first reading of today. For those seeking power, Jesus presents to them the experience of the Suffering Servant. In the gospel, Jesus Christ counters the conception that power means lording it over those placed under our care with his own experience of total self-giving (cf Isaiah 53, Philippians 2:6-11). This is the legacy he wishes to leave to his disciples. Jesus´ conception highlights the equality between all and is centered on service. This service is generous, to the point of being baptized with Christ in the blood of martyrdom and drinking with him the chalice of the Passion. No one is compelled to serve, because no one is compelled to love, and the expiatory and redeeming service of Christ and of his disciples springs from the source of true love. The power of arms is replaced in this new society by the power of true love, the most effective weapon in history and in relationships between human beings and nations. But this weapon is often unknown, despised, abandoned and destroyed. The society that triumphs victoriously with the arms of love is not contaminated. It has no virus to corrode it. It is a healthy, free, loving society, in which there is solidarity. This is the society for which God made himself present among us in the life of Jesus of Nazareth; this society is the raison d´être of the Church and of all those who belong to it. It is not Utopia, it is the Gospel, the Lord´s good news. Jesus offers us the following as Features of Christian service: 1) Christian service, as it is presented in this Sunday´s liturgical text, is expiatory and redeeming. It is the experience of the servant of Yahweh (First Reading), who because he has known suffering and trial in his life, will justify many and bear their guilt upon his shoulders. It is the historical experience of Jesus, who has come not to be served but to give his life for the redemption and ransom of many (Gospel) and who, as High Priest of the New Covenant, has experienced suffering. He is one of us; he is like us in everything apart from sin (Second Reading). 2) Christian service is also participatory. Christ the servant wishes to live and be present in the midst of a community of servants. This is why among Christians the first must be the servant of all. In other words, he has to be the first in service. This is not an option, it is the law constituting the Christian community. 3) Finally, service is effective and fruitful. It was effective and fruitful in the life of the servant of Yahweh, who "after the ordeal he has endured... will see the light and be content." It was fruitful and effective among the early Christians who, like Paul, considered themselves as servants of Christ in their service to their brothers and sisters, and who formed communities founded on love and solidarity. It was effective and fruitful in Jesus, who as High Priest penetrated the heavens and now sits in the throne of grace for our good and benefit. All human beings have access to that throne, and from there Jesus Christ avails us of the treasure of his grace and mercy. May Christ be our light; may he shine in our hearts; may he shine through our darkness; Christ be our light; shine in your Church gathered today. This is because, our world is crying for Servant Leadership In contemporary Christianity there is no greater consciousness that the Church is a community of service, and that each Christian is a servant, although there may be individuals or groups in whom this consciousness is still alive. This consciousness is a great wealth for the Church of our time, and extends to the entire ecclesial body. Let us ask the Lord for this consciousness because it is the fruit of his redeeming grace. However, we know that consciousness is not enough. From consciousness we must make the transition to a living experience. Thank God, this step has been taken and is taken every day by many children of the Church. The Church is at the forefront of service to the socially marginalized (drug addicts, AIDS patients, migrants, abandoned children...). The Church is at the forefront of effective aid especially, to the countries ravaged by natural calamities or by the terrible scourge of war. It is at the forefront in its service to all persons, especially to the most powerless. With vigor and perseverance the Church defends the fundamental rights of the human being, especially the most fundamental right of all, the right to life. The Church is at the forefront in the promotion and defense of human and Christian values. In every parish, in every diocese, there are so many ways, sometimes very simple ways, of serving! In conclusion, Serving and suffering go hand in hand . Although spiritually service may be a fountainhead of joy, suffering with its different faces is not absent from service. To serve, one must suffer. One must suffer fatigue, the hard effort of giving oneself totally; even illness. One must often suffer humiliation, and even the contempt and ingratitude of those whom one is serving. At times one must suffer the tragedy of the enormous distance between what one does at the service of some, and the huge needs of many millions of human beings in the world. Perhaps one will have to suffer from the lack of understanding on the part of others, from biting comments, from the way in which some people misinterpret one´s service. It is not easy to serve while suffering. It can only be done with the power of prayer, meditating on the Word of God which gives life to the spirit; thanks to the energy that comes to us from the bread of the Eucharist; thanks to a huge faith, which makes us discover in others, whoever they are, the same living Christ who is present in our daily life. If you have to suffer in order to serve, do not be afraid! In the painful service to others you will surely find God, and you will also find yourself.