Category: Year B

TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) Wis 7:7-11; Ps 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17 (R.v.14); Heb 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30 Last Sunday, with the example of marriage in which there is no separation once God has joined the two persons together into one, we were invited to be ever united with God without allowing anything to separate us from him. But it is quite true that the pursuit for material things has led many of us to miss the track of heaven. Hence, today’s liturgy is very important and timely in its call on us not to allow material things to separate...

TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) Gen 2:18-24; Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 (R.v.5); Heb 2:9-11; Mark 10:2-16 It is about seven weeks to the end of the Church’s Liturgical Year. The Church, in her wisdom, chose to remind us today that the end we anticipate would be in the form of a marriage feast (see Rev 19:6-9) in which man’s longing to be with God is achieved. That is why marriage has been described as God’s perfect gift to man. So, strictly speaking, today should not just be seen as a marriage Sunday but a day in which...

TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) Num 11:25-29; Ps 19:7-9, 11-12, 13 (R.v.8ab); Jam 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48 In our reflection last Sunday, there was a warning from the liturgy of the day to shun all forms of envy and Jealousy. These ills do not help in building a community for Christ; they destroy it. In the liturgy of today, the practical examples of Moses, in the First Reading, and Jesus, in the Gospel, are given to us to show us the need to work together so that we can achieve our common goal, which is, our union...

TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) Wis 2:12, 17-20; Ps 54:3-4, 5-6 and 8 (R.v.6b); Jam 3:16 – 4:3; Mark 9:30-37 In our reflection last Sunday, we discovered the identity of Jesus as the suffering messiah and his call on his followers to carry their crosses and come after him. We finally noted that one way to carry that cross well is by denying ourselves some pleasures for the good of others in need. The liturgy of today focuses on that note of helping the less privileged but with an additional warning against envy and jealousy which lead us...

TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) Isa 50:5-9a; Ps 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (R.v.9); Jam 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35 For about two weeks now, we have been reflecting on becoming authentic followers of Christ by being a reflection of the faith which we profess. Last two Sundays, Jesus accused the Pharisees of living hypocritical lives, and in the liturgy of last Sunday, he shows us what we need to do to prove that our faith is authentic. Remember also that in the last two Sundays, we did note that the reason most people live hypocritical lives is for the avoidance...

TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) Isa 35:4-7a; Ps 146:6c-70, 8-9a, 9bc-10ab (R.v.1b0); Jam 2:1-50; Mark 7:31-37 Last Sunday, we reflected on the need to make what we profess in faith to be represented by the kind of life we live if we claim to worship God who is love, we must be ready to love as God loves. That is the message which our liturgy of today tries to pass across to us even as it promises us that God will make all things well for us. The Second Reading was very emphatic on that point. We must...

⏰TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) 📕Deut 4:1-2, 6-8; Ps 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5 (R.v.1a); Jam 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 On a daily basis, the number of churches and religious adherents keeps on increasing all over the world. But has that made the world to be a better place? Surely, no! In fact, it would seem that things are continuously becoming worse. What can we say that contributes to this? The answer is found in the theme for today’s reflection. People are more interested in showing off their religious sentiments than in serving the God of religion....

⏰TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) 📑Josh 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Ps 34:1-2, 15-16, 17-18, 19-20, 21-22 (R.v.8a); Eph 5:21-32; John 6:60-69 As part of his concluding discourses with the people of Israel, Moses did set before them two ways, one which contains the Law of God and leads to life and prosperity, and another which is the way of other gods and leads to death and calamity. He encouraged them to choose the way of God so that they may live and prosper (cf. Deut 30:15-20). All the readings of our liturgy today echo the same injunction. In the...

TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) Prov 9:1-6; Ps 34:1-2, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 (R.v.8a); Eph 5:15-20; John 6:51-58 In our reflection last Sunday, we did observe that partaking in the food from heaven, that is the Body and Blood of Jesus, is not an option for anyone who wants to follow Jesus faithfully till the end. Today’s liturgy stresses that point well. In the Gospel reading, Jesus said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal...

NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) 2 Kings 19:4-8; Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (R.v.9a); Eph 4:30 – 5:2; John 6:41-51 Last Sunday, when we began our reflection on Jesus, the bread of life, we noted that “the bread is first of all, the Word of God (cf. John 1:1)”. That reference to the Word of God should not be misconstrued to mean the mere spoken word; that is, if one makes effort to consider it from the point of view of John 1:1. It means the totality of the person of Jesus. Hence, it will not be equivocal...