Category: Ordinary Time

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BE WARY OF SCANDAL!

⏰Thursday of the Twenty-Third Week of Ordinary Time 2 (13 September 2018 – Memorial of St. John Chrysostom) 📖1 Cor 8:1b-7, 11-13; Ps 139:1-3, 13-14ab, 23-24 (R.v.24b); Luke 6:27-38 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit dwell and abide with you. Amen. Do you remember that saying that, “A clear conscience fears no accusation?” It is still very much valid. But now, that clear conscience must also embrace the virtue of PRUDENCE in order not to be deceitful. In Matt 18:6, Jesus warned, “If anyone should cause one...

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“LEAD ME, LORD, IN YOUR JUSTICE” (Ps 5:9a)

⏰Monday of the Twenty-Third Week of Ordinary Time 2 (10 September 2018) 📖1 Cor 5:1-8; Ps 5:5-6, 7, 12 (R.v.9a); Luke 6:6-11 My dear, it is the beginning of a new working week. This new week promises good tidings for you. And you know what! God is out to intervene in whatever that concerns you. No matter the effort of the enemy to the contrary, you shall continue to make progress. Indeed the enemy labours day and night to ensure that your miracle and progress are blocked. Consider the action of the scribes and the Pharisees at seeing the man...

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HE HAS DONE ALL THINGS WELL; HE EVEN MAKES THE DEAF HEAR AND THE MUTE SPEAK (Mark 7:37)

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...

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“AT YOUR COMMAND I WILL LOWER THE NETS” (Luke 5:5)

⏰Thursday of the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time 2 (06 September 2018) 📖1 Cor 3:18-23; Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6 (R.v.1ab); Luke 5:1-11 May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ ever remain and abide with you. Amen. Nobody can really be a true disciple, no matter his/her position in the Church or in the society if he/she has not learnt to listen and follow the voice of the Lord. Jesus himself said, “The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me” (John 10:27). Sometimes, that voice of the Lord might...

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WE ARE MERE SERVANTS (cf. Luke 17:10)

⏰Wednesday of the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time 2 (05 September 2018 – Memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta) 📖1 Cor 3:1-9; Ps 33:12-13, 14-15, 20-21 (R.v.12b); Luke 4:38-44 Who do people give praise to when you render service among them? Do you make it appear as if the strength to serve comes from you? It would be a sign of spiritual immaturity to begin to distinguish yourself for the service you are able to render instead of giving the honour to God. St Paul called the Corinthians to order because they started to create factions over which minister to...

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BETWEEN A CHRISTIAN AND A CHURCH MEMBER

⏰Tuesday of the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time 2 (04 September 2018) 📖1 Cor 2:10b-16; Ps 145:8-9, 10-11, 12-13ab, 13cd-14 (R.v.17a); Luke 4:31-37 May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ abide with you both now and forever. Amen. My dear, what is really your relationship with Jesus? It is not enough to say that we began going to Church for a very long time now; what impact has that number of years on our spiritual life? In Christian morality, we have what we call the ethics of doing and the ethics of being. Ethics of doing can...

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I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE CRUCIFIED

⏰Monday of the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time 2 (03 September 2018 – Memorial of St. Gregory the Great) 📖1 Cor 2:1-5; Ps 119:97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102 (R.v.97a); Luke 4:16-30 My dear, may I once more thank you for your spiritual support yesterday as we kept watch with our sick mother. Not only did she make it through the surgery, I have spoken with her. There is so much joy in me now that is really choking. Thank you for being there for me. At least, from my experience yesterday, you can now see better that we, priests,...

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“THIS PEOPLE HONOURS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME” (Mark 7:6)

⏰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....

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“GOD CHOSE THE FOOLISH TO SHAME THE WISE” (1Cor 1:27)

⏰Saturday of the Twenty-First Week of Ordinary Time 2 (01 September 2018) 📖1 Cor 1:26-31; Ps 33:12-13, 18-19, 20-21 (R.v.12b); Matt 25:14-30 Most times, when we hear the saying above, what readily comes to mind is the difference between the status of people – the rich and the poor, the physically strong and the weak, the tall and short men, fat and thin ones, etc. That may be the right interpretation of that text but let us try to make some impositions by looking at a different direction, that is inward. The situation in Corinth was one that placed them...

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“BEHOLD, THE BRIDEGROOM! COME OUT TO MEET HIM” (Matt 25:6)

⏰Friday of the Twenty-First Week of Ordinary Time 2 (31 August 2018) 📖1 Cor 1:17-25; Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 10-11 (R.v.5b); Matt 25:1-13 Congratulations as you made it to the end of this month, and warming up to embrace the new month. May this month end also bring to an end, all your worries and troubles so that the new month will usher in spiritual, economic and health renewal in your life. Amen. But wait! I am just wondering now; assuming this a voice rings out all over the world at this time, I mean now as you read through this,...