Category: Feasts and Solemnities
⏰SOLEMNITY OF MARY MOTHER OF GOD (01 January 2019 – World Day of Peace) 📕Num 6:22-27; Ps 67:2-3, 5-6 and 8; Gal 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21 Congratulation as you were among the number that made it to the end of this outgoing year 2018. I pray for you especially that it may also translate to an end of all things that oppose the purpose of God for your life. And as we cross over into the new year this night, may this new year be a year of testimonies upon testimonies for you and your family through Christ our Lord. Amen....
⏰Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time 2 (22 Aug. 2018 – Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary) 📖Ezek 34:1-11; Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 (R.v.1); Matt 20:1-16a In my little number of years in this pilgrimage of faith, I have come to learn that truth does not subsist in a doctrine I have practiced over the time or what I was taught. I have rather learnt to give reason a chance because God did not make a mistake in creating me with the brain. That is just a food for thought! The prophecy of Isaiah...
⏰FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD – YEAR B (06 August 2018) 📖Dan 7:9-10, 13-14; Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 9 (R.v.1a, 9a); Mark 9:2b-10 Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Among many reasons for the celebration, it served to encourage the disciples and strengthen their faith in view of the impending passion of Jesus. The most important encouragement comes from the fact that God is always with them in his Son, Jesus. The apocalyptic prophecy of Daniel made that point very obvious (cf. Daniel 7:9-14). The title of Ancient of Days who is ageless and...
⏰Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week of Ordinary Time 2 (01 August 2018 – Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori) 📖Jer 15:10, 16-21; Ps 59:2-3, 4, 10-11, 17, 18 (R.v.17d); Matt 13:44-46 At the end of the prayer-complaint of the prophet Jeremiah in Jer 15:10-18, God finally spoke to Jeremiah concerning his people Israel. Remember that like the loincloth that has already been soiled and made unfit to be used close to the loins (cf. Jer 13:1-11), Israel had sinned and thus separated themselves from the love and protection of God. It was God’s firm decision to punish Israel (Jer 15:1-9), which...
⏰Thursday of the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time 2 (18 June 2020) 📖Sir 48:1-14; Ps 97:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7 (R.v.12a); Matt 6:7-15 Within one of our reflections through this medium in the past, we have tried to explain the benefits of our celebration of the Saints. One of those reasons is for us to imitate their lives and faith (see Heb 13:7). The second is to have them intercede for us before God. It is in this second that many people have problems with us, Catholics. They would ask, “How can a dead person intercede for you? Who don die...
⏰Thursday of the Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time 2 (21 June 2018 – Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga) 📖Sir 48:1-14; Ps 97:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7 (R.v.12a); Matt 6:7-15 St. Aloysius Gonzaga, whose memorial we celebrate today, died at the age of 23. He was known for his outstanding life of holiness, marked by piety, selflessness and simplicity. He was a man of prayer. Prayer is a communication between God and man. With prayer man presents his petition before God and hope that God hears and answer him. With the above in mind, I wonder how many of us who do...
⏰Memorial of St. Barnabas (11 June 2020) 📖Acts 11:21b-26, 13:1-3; Ps 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6 (R.v.2b); Matt 10:7-13 In celebrating the lives of the saints, the Church invites us to emulate their faith and virtues (cf. Heb 13:7) and, with her belief on the communion of the saints, prays for their intercession on our behalf. The name “Barnabas” means “son of encouragement or consolation” (Acts 4:36). That name indeed reflects most of his missionary works. We were told of his charity in Acts 4:36 and he must have contributed in encouraging others to do the same (Acts 11:28-30). Then, at...
⏰Saturday of the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time 2 (09 June 2018 – Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) 📖2 Tim 4:1-8; Ps 71:8-9, 14-15ab, 16-17, 22 (R.v.15ab); Luke 2:41-51 My dear, St. Paul goes on encouraging us through his Second Letter to Timothy to be steadfast in faith and in the truth of the Gospel. He warned us beforehand of this period when many would no longer want to follow the truth but rather seek to twist the Gospel to suit their selfish interest (cf. 2 Tim 4:2-5). That calls for a strong faith in the omnipotence of...
⏰Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Year B (08 June 2018) 📖Hos 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9; Isa 12:2-3, 4bcde, 5-6 (R.v.3); Eph 3:8-12, 14-19; John 19:31-37 In the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we celebrate love. The Heart of Jesus is the heart of love. Jesus is God and God is love (1 John 4:16). It then means that Jesus is love. In his apparition to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in France, Jesus said, poirt which has so loved men that it has spared nothing to testify its love for them, even to the exhausting and consuming of itself for...
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Year B) Exod 24:3-8; Psalm 116:12-13, 15 and 16bc, 17-18 (R.v.13); Heb 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 The celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, in a very special way, invites us to reflect on the rich deposit of our faith which informs our celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Beyond that however, it affords us of the opportunity to reflect well on what we believe in so as to ensure that we are not dancing outside the beat. At this celebration last year, we were...
