Malti
English
[:mt]Download pdf
“Ħennu, bħalma hu ħanin Missierkom” (Lq 6,36).
Skont San Luqa, wara li Ġesù ħabbar il-beatitudnijiet lid-dixxipli tiegħu, hu għamel stedina rivoluzzjonarja: talabna nħobbu `l kull bniedem bħallikieku kien ħuna, ukoll jekk dan ikun għadu tagħna.
Ġesù jaf tajjeb għalfejn qed jitlob dan minna u jgħidilna li aħna aħwa ta’ xulxin għax għandna Missier wieħed, li dejjem ifittex lil uliedu.
Hu jrid jidħol f’rabta magħna, iridna nkunu nies responsabbli, imma fl-istess ħin imħabbtu tieħu ħsiebna, tfejjaqna u titmagħna. Hu jġib ruħu magħna bħal omm b’qalb mimlija ħniena u għożża.
Il-ħniena t’Alla titfa’ ħarsitha fuq kull bniedem, bid-dgħufijiet kollha tiegħu. Mhux talli hekk, talli Hu jippreferi `l dawk imwarrbin mis-soċjetà, lil dawk li ħadd ma jridhom.
Il-ħniena hi mħabba li timla l-qlub u mbagħad tinfirex fuq l-oħrajn, kemm fuq il-ġirien kif ukoll fuq il-barranin, fuq is-soċjetà ta’ madwarna.
Aħna nistgħu nixbhu `l Alla fil-kwalitajiet tiegħu għax aħna wliedu; nistgħu nkunu nies li jħobbu, li jilqgħu lill-oħrajn u li jistennew il-waqt opportun biex nersqu lejn l-oħrajn.
“ĦENNU, BĦALMA HU ĦANIN MISSIERKOM”.
Sfortunatament, fil-ħajja personali u soċjali tagħna, qed ngħixu dejjem aktar f’sitwazzjonijiet ta’ mibegħda, ta’ għira, suspett, ta’ ġudizzju u biża’ minn xulxin. Hemm nies li jżommu f’qalbhom u jeħduha kontra l-oħrajn u hekk jinqalgħu tilwim u gwerer.
Bħala nsara, aħna nistgħu nagħtu xhieda billi neħduha kontra dan kollu: irridu ninħelsu minna nfusna u minn dak li jikkundizzjonana. Irridu nibnu mill-ġdid dawk ir-rabtiet li jkunu xxellfu jew tfarrku fil-familji tagħna, fuq il-post tax-xogħol, fil-komunitajiet parrokkjali u filpartiti politiċi.
Jekk weġġgħajna `l xi ħadd, għandna nimtlew bil-kuraġġ u nitolbu maħfra biex nerġgħu naqbdu t-triq flimkien. Din hija azzjoni ta’ dinjità mill-aktar kbira.
U jekk hemm xi ħadd li tassew weġġagħna, għandna nagħmlu l-ħila u naħfrulu; nagħtuh post f’qalbna biex hu jkun jista’ jħoss li l-ferita fieqet.
Imma xinhi l-maħfra?
“Il-maħfra mhix li tinsa […] mhijiex nuqqas ta’ ħila, […] ma jfissirx li dak li hu gravi tgħid li mhuwiex, jew dak li hu ħażin tgħid li hu tajjeb, […] il-maħfra mhix indifferenza. Il-maħfra hi att ta’ volontà li bih tara ċar dak li ġara. Għaldaqstant hi att ta’ libertà li bih tilqa’ `l ħuk kif inhu, minkejja d-deni li jkun għamillek; tilqgħu kif Alla jilqa’ lilna midinbin, minkejja d-difetti kollha tagħna. Il-maħfra tfisser li ma tpattix offiża b’offiża oħra, imma li tagħmel dak li jgħid San Pawl: ‘Tħallix il-ħażen jirbħek, iżda irbaħ il-ħażen bit-tajjeb’1 ”2 .
Irridu nkunu lesti nagħmlu dan, sabiex niftħu qalbna għall-oħrajn. Din hi xi ħaġa li rridu nikbru fiha kuljum, billi nagħrfu dejjem aktar li aħna wlied Alla. Hi fuq kollox grazzja minn Alla l-Missier, don li nistgħu u fi dmirna li nitolbhuhielu.
“ĦENNU, BĦALMA HU ĦANIN MISSIERKOM”.
Tfajla mill-Filippini tirrakkonta: “Meta qatlu `l missieri kelli biss ħdax-il sena; ma saritx ġustizzja dwar dan il-qtil għax aħna konna fqar. Meta kbirt, studjajt biex insir avukata għax xtaqt li ssir ġustizzja, iżda Alla kellu pjan ieħor għalija. Waħda li taħdem miegħi stednitni għal laqgħa li ssir għal min irid jimpenja ruħu biex jgħix il-Vanġelu bis-serjetà. U hekk bdejt nagħmel jien ukoll.
Darba tlabt `il Ġesù jgħallimni x’għandi nagħmel biex ngħix tassew il-Kelma tiegħu: “Ħobbu ‘l-għedewwa tagħkom”3 , għax kont għadni nħoss ġewwa fija mibegħda lejn dawk li qatlu `l missieri. L-għada, fuq il-post tax-xogħol, iltqajt mal-kap ta’ dak il-grupp. Jien sellimtlu bi tbissima u staqsejtu kif kienet il-familja tiegħu. Din it-tislima ħasditu, u jiena nħsadt aktar minnu b’dak li kont għamilt.
Ftit ftit il-mibegħda li kont inħoss ġo fija bdiet tgħib u bdiet tinbidel f’imħabba. Iżda dak kien għadu biss l-ewwel pass: l-imħabba hi krejattiva! Ħsibt li kellna naħfru `l kull membru talgrupp. Mort insibhom flimkien ma’ ħija, biex nibnu rabta ġdida magħhom u nkunu xhieda tal-imħabba t’Alla lejhom! Wieħed minnhom talabna naħfrulu għal dak li kien għamel u qalilna nitolbu għalih u għall-familja tiegħu”.
Letizia Magri
1: Ara Rm 12, 21.
2: Ara C. Lubich, Costruire sulla roccia, Città Nuova, Ruma 1993, p.56.
3: Ara Mt 5, 44; Lq 6, 27.
[:en]
Word of Life
for ages 4-8 | for ages 9-17 | Print | Audio
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Lk 6:36)
From what St. Luke tells us, after proclaiming the beatitudes to his disciples, Jesus made his
revolutionary call: to love every person as a brother or sister, even those considered enemies. Jesus
fully knows and explains to us that we are all brothers and sisters because we have one Father.
Continually seeking out his children, God wants to build a relationship with us. While
holding us up to our responsibilities, God’s love heals, nourishes and takes care of us. It is a
mother’s attitude, compassionate and tender.
This is the mercy of God that reaches out personally to every human being, with all their
weaknesses. In fact, God prefers those who are marginalized, excluded and rejected.
Mercy is a love that fills the heart and flows out to others, to neighbors as well as strangers,
to society around us. Since we are children of God, we can imitate his characteristics of love,
acceptance and knowing how to wait for the right time for others.
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Unfortunately, in our personal and social lives we breathe an atmosphere of growing hostility and
competition, of mutual suspicion, categorical judgments and fear of others. Grudges accumulate and
lead to conflicts and wars.
As Christians, we can go against the mainstream by giving a clear-cut witness. We can take
the step to be free from ourselves and from external circumstances, and begin to rebuild the
weakened or broken bonds in our family, in our workplace, in the parish community or in our
political party.
If we have hurt someone, let’s have the courage to ask forgiveness and start again. It is an
act of great dignity. If someone has truly offended us, let’s try to forgive them and make room for
that person once more in our heart, so that the wound can heal.
But what is forgiveness?
Focolare founder Chiara Lubich wrote in a commentary to scripture in October 1981:
“Forgiveness is not forgetfulness … it is not weakness … it does not mean taking serious things
lightly, or considering as good what is in fact bad … it is not indifference. Forgiveness is a clearsighted
act of will, and thus a free act that welcomes the other as he or she is, despite the wrong
done to us, just as God welcomes us sinners, despite our faults.”
Forgiveness means not reacting to the injuries received with more wrongdoing, but doing
what Paul says: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (see Rom 12:21). Such
openheartedness cannot be improvised. It is a daily conquest, a constant growing in our identity as
children of God. Above all, it is a gift from the Father that we can and must ask from him.
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
A young woman from the Philippines told us her story: “I was only 11 when my father was killed,
but justice was not upheld because we were poor. When I grew up, I studied law because I wanted
justice for my father’s death. But God had another plan for me. A colleague invited me to meet
people who were seriously committed to living the Gospel. I started doing the same.
“One day I asked Jesus to teach me how to live his words “Love your enemies” (cf. Mt
5:44) in a real way, because I still felt hatred within me for the men who had killed my father. The
next day, at work, I met the head of that criminal group. I greeted him with a smile and asked about
his family.
“He was astonished by this, and I was even more surprised at what I had done. The hatred
within me started breaking down and was transformed into love. However, that was only the first
step: love is creative! I thought that every member of that criminal group had to receive our
forgiveness. My brother and I visited them to re-establish a relationship and bear witness that God
loves them! One man asked our forgiveness for what he had done, as well as prayers for himself
and his family.”
Letizia Magri
https://soundcloud.com/user-63571203/march-2019-be-merciful-just-as-your-father-is-merciful[:]
Add Comment