FORMATION
FORMATION 1997
THEME NO.4
Jesus Christ proclaims a year of
favour
1. Formation Prayer
(To be recited by all present).
In the name of the Father …
Heavenly Father, as we commence this session
of the Formation Programme, help us to believe you are near to us and that you care for
each one of us every day of our lives. Send the Holy Spirit to be our helper and our
guide, enlightening our minds, giving us the grace to serve you with generous hearts and
inspiring us to stand firm as Christians in your love. We ask this through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
2. Scripture Reading - Leviticus
25:10–18
(Read by the discussion leader or the
member nominated by him.)
And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and
you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a
jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you
to your family. That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you: you shall not sow, or reap
the aftergrowth, or harvest the unpruned vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to
you: you shall eat only what the field itself produces. In this year of jubilee you shall
return, everyone of you, to your property. When you make a sale to your neighbour or buy
from your neighbour, you shall not cheat one another. When you buy from your neighbour,
you shall pay only for the number of years since the jubilee; the seller shall charge you
only for the remaining crop years. If the years are more, you shall increase the price,
and if the years are fewer, you shall diminish the price; for it is a certain number of
harvests that are being sold to you. You shall not cheat one another, but you shall fear
your God; for I am the Lord your God. You shall observe my statutes and faithfully keep my
ordinances, so that you may live on the land securely.
3. The Message
(Read by the discussion leader or the
member nominated by him.)
In the previous theme, mention was made of
the reference made by Jesus to the proclamation of a year of favour (an acceptable year of
the Lord). When the people entered the Promised Land after the journey out of slavery in
Egypt, God commanded that the land be given a rest every fifty years; all slaves were to
be liberated; all mortgaged fields and houses would return to their owners without payment
from them. It has been suggested that Luke wished to portray Jesus as announcing a Jubilee
year where all debts would be remitted and all slaves set free. In the Apostolic Letter
dealing with the Jubilee of the year 2000, Pope John Paul states as follows:
"Christians will have to raise their voice on behalf of the poor of the world,
proposing the Jubilee as an appropriate time to give thought, among other things, to
reducing substantially, if not cancelling outright, the international debt, which
seriously threatens the future of many nations. The Jubilee can also offer an opportunity
for reflection on other challenges of our time, such as the difficulties of dialogue
between different cultures and the problems connected with respect for women’s rights
and the promotion of the family and marriage" (TMA 51).
4. The Exercise
(Five minutes of reflection by all
members.)
What is my understanding of the economic
situation of what are called third world countries?
In what way does my attitude towards peoples
from other cultures differ from the values proclaimed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
What can I or the Order do to promote the
family and marriage?
5. The Sharing
(Members share aspects of their personal
faith and its place in their lives that have come to them through the Exercise.)
6. The Word
(The basis of meditation and reflection
for the ensuing month given by the discussion leader.)
Jesus came so "the poor have good news
brought to them" (Luke 7:22).
7. Closing Prayer
(Recited by all members)
Father, your Son came among us as a slave to
free the human race from the bondage of sin. Rescue those unjustly deprived of liberty and
restore them to the freedom you wish for all men and women as your sons and daughters. We
ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
