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viernes, 30 de junio de 2017

Saints Peter and Paul, Pillars of the Early Church - Santos Pedro y Pablo, Pilares de la Iglesia Primitiva



ENGLISH:
St. Peter
Simon first met Jesus through his brother Andrew, the "first-called" Apostle. Both brothers were fishermen at the Sea of Galilee who gave up their work when Jesus told them, "I will make you fishers of men" (Read Matthew 4:18-25 and John 1:40-42). In Matthew 16:16-19, Simon tells Jesus, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus, pleased with His Disciple's faith, blessed him with a sacred trust, "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." [Note: the "rock" that Jesus refers to here is Peter's statement, not the person of Peter.] Peter was with Jesus throughout his ministry. And just as Christ had foretold, Peter denied knowing the Lord upon His arrest for fear of being persecuted, but later repented.

After Christ's Resurrection and Ascension and the grace of Pentecost, Peter helped foster the Christian community in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem Peter was arrested by the Jewish authorities, and an angel of the Lord freed him from prison (Acts 12). He journeyed throughout Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine and Italy teaching people about Christ. He performed many miracles of healing and resurrections as well (see the Book of Acts). He established the first church in Antioch and became its first bishop. In Rome he converted many to the faith.

Legend has it that when the great persecutions against Christians began in Rome at that time, Peter was advised to leave the city. On the road he saw Jesus heading in the opposite direction towards Rome. "Lord where are you going?" Peter asked. Jesus responded, "I am going to be crucified a second time." Peter realized his fate and returned to Rome where he was arrested and condemned to be crucified in 67 AD. He asked to be crucified upside down, as he felt unworthy of the same punishment as his Lord. Two of Peter's letters, probably written during his imprisonment in Rome, are included in the New Testament.

St. Paul
Saul grew up in a devout Jewish family in Tarsus, Syria. He saw Christianity as a threat to Judaism and therefore was determined to eradicate it. He is first mentioned in Acts 7:58 as a zealous persecutor of Christians in Jerusalem. On his way to Damascus to arrest Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem, he was struck by a vision of heavenly light and fell to the ground (see Acts 9). "Saul, why are you persecuting Me!" asked the Lord. "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Trembling and astonished, Saul asked, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." Saul was blinded from this holy light and remained so and in prayer in Damascus. Three days later, Ananias, a devout Christian who followed the Lord's command to find Saul, healed him and baptized him so that he would receive the Holy Spirit. He changed his name to Paul. Paul began to preach to the people about Jesus and had to flee Damascus when the Jews plotted to kill him. In Jerusalem he tried to join the Apostles, but they were afraid of him, having known him as the harsh persecutor of Christians. But Barnabas believed in him and brought him to the Apostles. Barnabas and Paul went on many missionary travels together throughout Syria, Asia Minor, Cyprus and Greece. With others and on his own, Paul continued his ministry to the people in these lands again and traveled to Ephesus, Corinth, Athens, Thessalonica, Thrace, Crete, Malta, Sicily and Italy to Rome. He was the greatest Apostolic missionary and is often referred to as the "Apostle to the Gentiles." His great courage, stamina and fierce intelligence were the hallmarks of his ministry.

Paul was a brilliant orator and writer, and he was sensitive to the needs and moods of various tribes of both Greek and Near Eastern peoples. His extraordinary letters or epistles make up almost half of the New Testament.
In Rome Paul was arrested and beheaded in 67 AD. [Note: Roman citizens were beheaded rather than crucified.] In his last letter, 2 Timothy, he states, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Troparion (Tone 4)
O foremost in the ranks of apostles, and teachers of the world, intercede with the Master of All to grant safety to the world and to ours souls the great mercy.

Kontakion (Tone 2)
O Lord, You have taken up to their eternal rest, and to the enjoyment of Your good things the two infallible preachers of divine truths and leaders of the apostles, for You have accepted their struggles and their death as being better than any holocaust. O You who alone know the the secrets of hearts.
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ESPAÑOL:
San Pedro 
Simon conoció a Jesús por primera vez a través de su hermano Andrew, el apóstol "primero llamado". Ambos hermanos eran pescadores en el Mar de Galilea que renunciaron a su trabajo cuando Jesús les dijo: "Los haré pescadores de hombres" (lea Mateo 4: 18-25 y Juan 1: 40-42). En Mateo 16: 16-19, Simón le dice a Jesús: "Tú eres el Cristo, el Hijo del Dios viviente". Y Jesús, complacido con la fe de su discípulo, lo bendijo con una confianza sagrada: "Tú eres Pedro y sobre esta roca edificaré mi Iglesia y las puertas del Hades no prevalecerán contra ella". [Nota: la "roca" a la que Jesús se refiere aquí es la declaración de Pedro, no la persona de Pedro.] Pedro estuvo con Jesús durante todo su ministerio. Y tal como Cristo había predicho, Pedro negó conocer al Señor después de su arresto por temor a ser perseguido, pero luego se arrepintió.

Después de la resurrección y ascensión de Cristo y la gracia de Pentecostés, Pedro ayudó a fomentar la comunidad cristiana en Jerusalén. En Jerusalén, Pedro fue arrestado por las autoridades judías, y un ángel del Señor lo liberó de la prisión (Hechos 12). Viajó por Asia Menor, Siria, Palestina e Italia enseñando a la gente acerca de Cristo. También realizó muchos milagros de curación y resurrección (ver el Libro de los Hechos). Estableció la primera iglesia en Antioquía y se convirtió en su primer obispo. En Roma convirtió a muchos a la fe.

La leyenda dice que cuando las grandes persecuciones contra los cristianos comenzaron en Roma en ese momento, se le aconsejó a Pedro que abandonara la ciudad. En el camino vio a Jesús dirigiéndose en dirección opuesta hacia Roma. "Señor, ¿a dónde vas?" Peter preguntó. Jesús respondió: "Voy a ser crucificado por segunda vez". Pedro se dio cuenta de su destino y regresó a Roma, donde fue arrestado y condenado a ser crucificado en 67 DC. Pidió ser crucificado boca abajo, ya que se sentía indigno del mismo castigo que su Señor. Dos de las cartas de Pedro, probablemente escritas durante su encarcelamiento en Roma, están incluidas en el Nuevo Testamento.


San Pablo 
Saúl creció en una devota familia judía en Tarso, Siria. Él veía el cristianismo como una amenaza para el judaísmo y, por lo tanto, estaba decidido a erradicarlo. Se le menciona por primera vez en Hechos 7:58 como un celoso perseguidor de los cristianos en Jerusalén. En su camino a Damasco para arrestar a cristianos y traerlos de regreso a Jerusalén, fue golpeado por una visión de luz celestial y cayó al suelo (ver Hechos 9). "Saul, ¿por qué me persigues?" Preguntó el Señor. "¿Quién eres, Señor?" Entonces el Señor dijo: "Yo soy Jesús, a quien tú persigues". Temblando y asombrado, Saúl preguntó: "Señor, ¿qué quieres que haga?" "Levántate y ve a la ciudad, y se te dirá lo que debes hacer". Saulo fue cegado por esta luz sagrada y permaneció así y rezando en Damasco. Tres días después, Ananías, un cristiano devoto que siguió el mandato del Señor de encontrar a Saúl, lo curó y lo bautizó para que recibiera el Espíritu Santo. Cambió su nombre a Paul. Pablo comenzó a predicar a la gente sobre Jesús y tuvo que huir de Damasco cuando los judíos planearon matarlo. En Jerusalén trató de unirse a los apóstoles, pero le tenían miedo, ya que lo conocían como el duro perseguidor de los cristianos. Pero Bernabé creyó en él y lo trajo a los apóstoles. Bernabé y Pablo realizaron juntos muchos viajes misioneros por Siria, Asia Menor, Chipre y Grecia. Con otros y solo, Pablo continuó su ministerio con la gente en estas tierras nuevamente y viajó a Éfeso, Corinto, Atenas, Tesalónica, Tracia, Creta, Malta, Sicilia e Italia a Roma. Fue el mayor misionero apostólico y a menudo se lo conoce como el "Apóstol de los gentiles". Su gran coraje, resistencia e inteligencia feroz fueron los sellos distintivos de su ministerio.
Pablo era un orador y escritor brillante, y era sensible a las necesidades y estados de ánimo de varias tribus de pueblos griegos y del Cercano Oriente. Sus extraordinarias cartas o epístolas constituyen casi la mitad del Nuevo Testamento. En Roma, Pablo fue arrestado y decapitado en el año 67 DC. [Nota: los ciudadanos romanos fueron decapitados en lugar de crucificados.] En su última carta, 2 Timoteo, dice: "He peleado la buena batalla, he terminado la carrera, he mantenido la fe."
Troparion (tono 4) ¡Oh, el primero en las filas de los apóstoles y los maestros del mundo, interceda con el Maestro de Todos para otorgar seguridad al mundo y a nuestras almas la gran misericordia! 
Kontakion (tono 2) Oh Señor, has llevado a su descanso eterno, y al disfrute de tus cosas buenas, los dos predicadores infalibles de las verdades divinas y los líderes de los apóstoles, porque has aceptado sus luchas y su muerte como algo mejor que cualquier holocausto. O Tú, que solo conoces los secretos de los corazones.



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miércoles, 7 de junio de 2017

ペンテコステ



ペンテコステ(ラテン語: Pentecostes)は、聖霊降臨(せいれいこうりん)と呼ばれる新約聖書にあるエピソードの1つ。イエスの復活・昇天後、集まって祈っていた120人の信徒たちの上に、神からの聖霊が降ったという出来事のこと、およびその出来事を記念するキリスト教の祝祭日。教派により訳語は異なり、聖霊降臨祭(せいれいこうりんさい)、五旬節(ごじゅんせつ)、五旬祭(ごじゅんさい)ともいう。

聖霊降臨に関する記事は新約聖書の『使徒言行録』2章1節 - 42節にみられる。それによれば、復活したイエスは弟子たちに「近いうちに聖霊が降る」ことを告げて(使徒言行録1章8節)、天に昇っていく(キリストの昇天)。それから10日後、ユダヤ教の五旬祭の日に使徒とイエスの母や兄弟たち、イエスに従った女たちが集まって祈っていると、激しい風のような音が聞こえ、天から炎のような舌が一人ひとりの上に分かれて降った。集まって祈っていた信徒たちは聖霊に満たされ、さまざまな国の言葉(普通の人に理解できない「異言」ではなく、「外国語」のことである)で語り始めた。地中海世界全域に離散していたディアスポラのユダヤ人たちが、五旬祭のためにエルサレムに集まっていたが、(パレスチナ出身の)信徒たちが地中海世界各地の言葉で語っているのを聞いて驚いた。ペトロが中心になってイエスの死と復活の意味について語ると、多くの人が信じて洗礼を受け、使徒たちのグループに加わった。これが聖書が語る聖霊降臨の出来事である。

歴史的には、ペンテコステという名前はギリシア語で「50番目(の日)」を意味するペンテーコステー(・ヘーメラ) "πεντηκοστή [ἡμέρα]" に由来している。これはユダヤ教において過越祭の50日後に祝われる祭日シャブオット(シャヴーオート) "שבועות"(「週」を表すシャヴーア "שבוע" の特殊な複数形。通常の複数形はシャヴーイーム "שבועים")のギリシャ語訳であり、もともとは春に得られる最初の収穫に感謝する農業祭であった。
後にキリスト教徒によって聖霊降臨の出来事と結び付けられ、そちらが重視されたことから、宗教上は収穫感謝の意味は失われた。しかし農業祭としての色彩は、ドイツ、ギリシアなどの民俗に残っている。
キリスト教の聖霊降臨の日は、復活祭から(その日を第一日と)数えて50日後に祝われる移動祝日(年によって日付が変わる祝日)である。日付は毎年異なるが、西方では五月初旬から六月上旬の日曜日、東方では五月初旬から六月下旬の日曜日に行われる。
各国によって聖霊降臨の日の祝い方はさまざまである。たとえばイタリアでは炎のような舌を象徴して式中にバラの花びらをまく。フランスでは激しい風のような音がしたことをあらわして式中にトランペットがふかれる。ドイツでは牝牛に花冠をつけ引き回す。
聖霊降臨を描いた芸術作品は多いが、特に有名なものとしてエル・グレコの絵画『聖霊降臨』がある。
なお、ユダヤ教のペンテコステに関してはシャブオット(七週の祭り)を参照のこと。
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domingo, 4 de junio de 2017

Pentecost


Pentecost , Greek πεντηκοστή [ἡμέρα]

The Christian holiday of Pentecost, celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter, commemorates the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1–31). This event represents the birth of the Church.

The term Pentecost comes from the Greek Πεντηκοστή (Pentēkostē) meaning "fiftieth". It refers to the festival celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover, also known as the "Feast of Weeks" in the Septuagint.
The Septuagint uses the term Pentēkostē in Tobit 2:1 and 2 Maccabees 12:32 to refer to the "Feast of Pentecost". In Tobit 2:1, Pentecost is a Greek term used in a Greek text as an alternate title for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.The Greek term used for Shavuot in the Septuagint translation of Deuteronomy 16:10 and Exodus 34:22 is eorten ebdomadon, often translated into English as "Festival of Weeks."
The Septuagint also uses the word pentekoste in two other senses: to signify the year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:10), an event which occurs every 50th year, and in several passages of chronology as an ordinal number.
The biblical narrative of Pentecost is given in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. Present were about one hundred and twenty followers of Christ (Acts 1:15), including the Twelve Apostles (i.e. the Eleven faithful disciples and Matthias who was Judas' replacement) (Acts 1:13, 26), His mother Mary, and some women. (Acts 1:14).
Their reception of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room is recounted in Acts 2:1–6:
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
While those on whom the Spirit had descended were speaking in many languages, the Apostle Peter stood up with the eleven and proclaimed to the crowd that this event was the fulfillment of the prophecy ("I will pour out my spirit"). In Acts 2:17, it reads: "'And in the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my spirit upon every sort of flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams." He also mentions (2:15) that it was the third hour of the day (about 9:00 am). Acts 2:41 then reports: "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls."
St. Peter stated that this event was the beginning of a continual outpouring that would be available to all believers from that point on, Jews and Gentiles alike.
The Descent of the Holy Ghost took place in the Upper Room, or Cenacle, while celebrating the day of Pentecost (Shavuot). The Upper Room was first mentioned in Luke 22:12–13 ( "And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover."). This Upper Room was to be the location of the Last Supper and the institution of Holy Communion. The next mention of an Upper Room is in Acts 1:13–14, the continuation of the Luke narrative by the same writer.
Here the disciples and some women wait and they gave themselves up to constant prayer: "And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren."
Then, in Acts 2:1–2, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting."


Lea en Español: Pentecostés