Category: Sundays

WE ARE A CHOSEN RACE (cf. 1Pet 2:9)

⏰Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) 📖Exod 19:2-6a; Psalm 100; Rom 5:6-11; Matt 9:36 – 10:8 🎤WE ARE A CHOSEN RACE (cf. 1Pet 2:9) All the readings of today, including the responsorial Psalm, and especially the First Reading and the Gospel, point out the fact of God’s choice of us to be his people. In the first reading, the people of Israel became our representatives in that choice. Remember that Israel as a nation is made up of 12 tribes corresponding to the 12 sons of Jacob. Then, as Israel is considered the vessel of God’s salvation following their...

JESUS THE LAMB OF GOD!

⏰SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A) 📖Isa 49:3, 5-6; Ps 40:2 and 4b, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10 (R.v.8a and 9a); 1 Cor 1:1-3; John 1:29-34 🎤JESUS THE LAMB OF GOD! The bulk of the cult of Isaiah (Isaiah’s prophecy) recorded in chapters 40 to 55 is regarded as the Second Book of Isaiah, which is as well seen as coming from the exilic era. That is the period when the people of Israel were on exile. Let us remember that the prophet had, in the First Book (Isaiah 1 – 31) called the people to turn from their sins, otherwise...

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LIFE IS CHANGED THROUGH DEATH

⏰Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) 2 Macc 7:1-2, 9-14; Psalm 17:1, 5-6, 8 and 15 (R.v.15b); 2 Thess 2:16 – 3:5; Luke 20:27-38 LIFE IS CHANGED THROUGH DEATH The three readings that we have in our Liturgy of today, in one way or another, point to the fact of afterlife. We are on journey in this present life and our destination is in eternal life. For every Christian, this eternal life is founded on the love which God has shown in Christ Jesus, as St. Paul explained to us in Second Reading. He encouraged the Thessalonians to remain...

THE POWER OF PERSEVERANCE AND PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER

⏰Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) 📖Exod 17:8-13; Psalm 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; 2Tim 3:14-4:2; Luke 18:1-8 🎤THE POWER OF PERSEVERANCE AND PERSISTENCE IN PRAYER Prayer is a major theme that runs through the readings that we have in todays liturgy. The first reading and the Gospel brings out two very important dispositions that are needed for our prayers to be very effective. Those important dispositions include perseverance and persistence. It is true that our salvation does not so much depend on our effort since it is a GIFT of God to us and not what we MERIT through...

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES” (Luke 6:27)

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) 1 Sam 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23; Ps. 103:1-2, 3-4, 8 and 10, 12-13 (R.v.8a); 1 Cor 15:45-49; Luke 6:27-38″ LOVE YOUR ENEMIES” (Luke 6:27) Beloved in Christ, the liturgy of today challenges us to begin the change we need to see in others from ourselves. In the gospel reading, Jesus challenges us to love our enemies. As is typical of the Lucan Jesus (Jesus as the gospel of Luke presents him), this love is an action word; it is a verb. It is not just a profession that comes from the lips. That...

FROM YOU SHALL COME FORTH ONE WHO IS TO BE RULER IN ISRAEL

⏰FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT (YEAR C) 📖Mic 5:1-4a;Ps 80:2ac and 3b, 15-16a, 18-19 (R.v.4); Heb 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45 🎤“FROM YOU SHALL COME FORTH ONE WHO IS TO BE RULER IN ISRAEL” My dear, God is coming to visit you today in that your very challenging situation. He is about to lift you up to greater heights; such heights unimaginable that you would ever reach. He is coming to change you story line for the better. Are you ready to receive him?? We are already in the fourth week of our preparation for Christmas. By now, it is expected that we...

CALLED TO SERVE

⏰TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) 📖Isa 53:10-11; Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20 and 22 (R.v.22); Heb 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45 🎤CALLED TO SERVE In our liturgy last Sunday, we were instructed on the need to be detached from the material things of this world in order to prepare a rich and better abode in heaven. Today, the call extends also to the way we embrace power and positions of authority. As members of Christ’s body, we are to imitate Christ in all things, and he is, above all things, a servant-leader who is ever ready to lay down his life...

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A PROPHET LIKE MOSES

⏰FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) 📕Amos 7:12-15; Ps 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14 (R.v.8); Eph 1:3-14; Mark 6:7-13 Today, all the readings that we have in our liturgy give us one important message an invitation to share in the ministry of evangelization as God would want us to do and not as we would want it. Reflecting on this, the character of Moses as the ideal prophet in Israel comes to mind: 👉Moses was called by God; he did not call himself (cf. Exod 3); 👉He was selfless and an intercessor (cf. Exod 32:11-14); 👉He encouraged people to...

“THE LOVE OF CHRIST URGES US ON” (2 Cor 5:14)

⏰TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) 📖Job 38:1, 8-11; Ps 107:23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31 (R.v.1); 2 Cor 5:14-17; Mark 4:35-41 🎤”THE LOVE OF CHRIST URGES US ON” (2 Cor 5:14) “Since Jesus liveth, everything in me will live (4x)Even dry bone will live, will live (3x)Since Jesus liveth, everything will live Beloved friend in Christ, the psalmist said that, “Many are the trials of just, but the Lord delivers them from them all” (Ps 34:19). On daily bases, we encounter many challenges and difficulties that tend to weigh us down. Considering these faith-threatening conditions, our readings of last Sunday...

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WE HAVE A SHARE IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST

⏰The Baptism of the Lord (Year B) 📖Isa 55:1-11; Isa 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6 (R.v.3); 1 John 5:1-9; Mark 1:7-11 🎤WE HAVE A SHARE IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST According to the Catholic Catechism of Christian Doctrine, “Baptism is a sacrament which cleanses us from original sin, makes us Christians, children of God and members of the Church.” John’s baptism, which Jesus participated in was also called a “baptism of repentance.” With the above in mind, it is of little wonder why the early Christians felt embarrassed at the thought of the Baptism of Jesus. Would that mean that Jesus was...