Il-Kewkba li turi t-Triq

ENGLISH VERSION

Preżenza: Insir konxju li Alla qiegħed hawn biex jiltaqa’ miegħi. Nimmaġinah qiegħed maġenbi, jisma’ x-xewqat tiegħi.

Nitlob dak li nixtieq: Mulej, agħtini l-grazzja li nagħraf “l-istilel” li jmexxuni lejn il-Ħajja vera.

Test: Mt 2, 1-12 Iż-Żjara tal-Maġi

¹Meta twieled Ġesù f’Betlehem tal-Lhudija, fi żmien is-sultan Erodi, xi maġi mil-lvant ġew Ġerusalemm jistaqsu: ²“Fejn hu dak li twieled sultan tal-Lhud? Għax rajna l-kewkba tiegħu tielgħa, u ġejna nqimuh.” ³Is-sultan Erodi sama’ bihom, u tħawwad hu u Ġerusalemm kollha miegħu. ⁴Ġabar flimkien il-qassisin il-kbar u l-kittieba kollha tal-poplu, u ried jaf mingħandhom fejn kellu jitwieled il-Messija. ⁵U huma qalulu: “F’Betlehem tal-Lhudija, għax hekk inkiteb mill-profeta:

⁶‘U int, Betlehem, art ta’ Ġuda,
le, m’intix l-iżgħar fost il-bliet il-kbar ta’ Ġuda,
għax minnek joħroġ mexxej
li jirgħa l-poplu tiegħi Iżrael.’

⁷Erodi mbagħad sejjaħ lill-maġi bil-moħbi, u tkixxef bir-reqqa kollha mingħandhom iż-żmien li fih dehritilhom il-kewkba; ⁸bagħathom Betlehem u qalilhom: “Morru, staqsu sewwa għat-tifel, u meta ssibuh ejjew għiduli, ħalli jien ukoll niġi nqimu.” ⁹Dawk, wara li semgħu lis-sultan, telqu, u ara, il-kewkba li kienu raw tielgħa bdiet miexja quddiemhom sakemm waslet u waqfet fuq il-post fejn kien hemm it-tifel. ¹⁰Kif raw il-kewkba mtlew b’ferħ kbir tassew. ¹¹Meta mbagħad daħlu d-dar u raw lit-tifel ma’ ommu Marija, inxteħtu fl-art iqimuh; fetħu t-teżori tagħhom u offrewlu rigali deheb, inċens u mirra. ¹²Imbagħad, billi kienu mwissijin f’ħolma biex ma jerġgħux imorru għand Erodi, telqu lura lejn arthom minn triq oħra.

Ispirazzjoni

O God,
who am I now?
Once, I was secure
in familiar territory
in my sense of belonging

unquestioning of the norms of my culture
the assumptions built into my language
the values shared by my society.

But now you have called me out and away from home
and I do not know where you are leading.
I am empty, unsure, uncomfortable.
I have only a beckoning star to follow.

Journeying God,
pitch your tent with mine
so that I may not become deterred
by hardship, strangeness, doubt.
Show me the movement I must make
toward a wealth not dependent on possessions
toward a wisdom not based on books
toward a strength not bolstered by might
toward a God not confined to heaven
but scandalously earthed, poor, unrecognized…

Help me find myself
as I walk in others’ shoes.

Għajnuniet għall-meditazzjoni 1:

Il-Maġi segwew stilla li wasslithom f’post misterjuż. Fejn iridni mmur Alla din is-sena? X’inhuma l-istilel, is-sinjali li Alla qed jibgħatli f’dan il-mument ta’ ħajti?

1. Kif qed nirrispondi għal dawn is-sinjali?
2. X’inhu qed iwaqqafni (prioritajiet oħra, ambizzjonijiet) milli nieħu l-ewwel pass biex nibda t-triq li Alla qed jurini?

Għajnuniet għall-meditazzjoni 2:

Nimmaġina lil Ġesù miexi ħdejja matul il-vjaġġ tiegħi. Naqsam miegħu l-ostakli li qed niffaċċja bħalissa u nitkellem miegħu dwar kif qed inħossni dwarhom. Nitkellem miegħu dwar din it-triq li qiegħed fiha, u niftakar li m’inhix nivvjaġġa waħdi – hemm oħrajn li jistgħu issostnuni u jiggwidawni matul it-triq.

“Meta raw il-kewkba, mtlew b’ferħ kbir.”
Roddi ħajr lil Alla għas-sinjali li jibgħat tul it-triq.

Testi oħra għat-talb personali tagħkom id-dar:

• 1 Ġwanni 4,10 – “U hawn qiegħda l-imħabba; mhux għax aħna ħabbejna ’l Alla, imma għax ħabbna Hu u bagħat lil Ibnu biex ikun ta’ tpattija għal dnubietna.”
  Ġeneżi 3,9 – L-iktar ħaġa importanti mhix li jien infittex ’l Alla, imma li Hu jfittex lili b’diversi modi.
• Isaija 60:1-6 – “Qum! Ħa jiddi wiċċek! Id-dawl tiegħek wasal! Jiddi fuqek sebħ il-Mulej!”
• Efesin 3:1-12 – San Pawl jitkeb dwar il-misteru tar-Rivelazzjoni ta’ Alla lin-nazzjonijiet kollha.
• Ġwanni 1:9-14 – “id-dawl veru, li jdawwal kull bniedem, huwa u ġej fid-dinja.”
• Luqa 2:25-32 – Xmun jagħraf lil Ġesù bħala d-dawl għall-ġnus kollha.

Xhieda

Santu Wistin

St. Augustine, one of the most influential Christian thinkers, underwent a dramatic conversion from a life of indulgence and searching for truth in various philosophies to becoming a devout Christian. Augustine searched for meaning in a life of pleasure, worldly success, and philosophy, but his “star” was the grace of God, guiding him to true enlightenment

He experienced an inner struggle, and his moment of conversion came when he heard a voice telling him, “Take up and read,” which led him to read St. Paul’s letters, specifically Romans 13:13-14 that brought him to the recognition of Christ as the truth, a moment of divine revelation that transforms their journey. Just as the Magi’s eyes were opened to the true King, Augustine’s heart and mind were opened to God’s call.

Qaddej t’Alla Pedro Arrupe sj

In 1926, Arrupe’s father died, an event which filled him with great sadness. In the summer of the same year he went on a pilgrimage to Lourdes with his four sisters. The experiences he gathered from Lourdes were fundamental for his future life. In the conversations with Jean-Claude Dietsch, SJ he described his experiences as follows:

“For me Lourdes is the city of miracles. I stayed there for some three months. Being a medical student, I obtained permission to observe the work of the Office of Verification. I was, thus, the witness of three miraculous cures from the very moment they took place in the midst of the faithful who were praying to the Virgin Mary, and then on through the medical verification that was carried out by the doctors who were atheists. This impressed me very much, because I had often heard my professors in Madrid, who also were atheists, speak of the “superstitions of Lourdes.” There was born my vocation, in that atmosphere of both simplicity and grandeur at the feet of the Virgin Mary, midst the noisy insistent prayer of the pilgrims and the sweet murmurings of the river Gave.”

Subsequent to these gathered findings, Arrupe decided not to continue his medical studies. On 15 January 1927, he joined the Society of Jesus.