Category: Sundays

⏰EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) 📕Exod 16:2-4, 12-15; Ps 78:3 and 4bc, 23-24, 25 and 54 (R.v.24b); Eph 4:17, 20-24; John 6:24-35 The miracles of Jesus in the Gospel of John are called signs. The reason is because the miracles ought not to be ends in themselves but means to an end. The end is the belief in God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent (John 6:29, 17:3). Like sign posts that direct one to a place, miracles ought to direct us to that belief in God. Unfortunately, the people in the Gospel of today believed in...

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) 2 Kings 4:42-44; Ps 145:10-11,15-16,17-18(R.v.16); Eph 4:1-6; John 6:1-15 Today, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, has asked us to remember and celebrate all grandparents and the elderly in our society. In his letter for this celebration, Pope Francis reminded these categories of persons of the promise of God to be with them till the very end. We join the Holy Father in praying especially those of them who are suffering on account of their old age, that God may give them comfort. Note that a plenary indulgence is granted to the grandparents and...

⏰SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) 📕Jer 23:1-6; Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 (R.v.1); Eph 2:13-18; Mark 6:30-34 Last Sunday, we reflected on the difference between the true and false prophets. That distinction continues today in our liturgy with a wider perspective to also include all the leaders in the society. The attention is on their role as the shepherds of the people. The Book of Jeremiah dwelt so much on the prophets and prophecy, and denounced the false prophets in many ways and places. It considers the problem of the land as having a lot to do with...

⏰FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) 📑Ezek 2:2-5; Ps 123:1-2a, 2bc, 3-4 (R.v.2ef); 2 Cor 12:7-10; Mark 6:1-6 We are obviously aware of that saying that over-familiarity breeds contempt. The kind of reception that Jesus got from his kinsmen in the Gospel today explains that well. For some weeks before now, we have been seeing, from the Gospel of Mark, the divine power at work in Jesus. And the result has mostly been reverence for him and for God through him in the foreign nations and surrounding villages (cf. Mark 1:28, 45; 2:12; 4:41; 5:20). But now, he came...

⏰THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B) 📕Wis 1:13-15, 2:23-24; Ps 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b (R.v.2a); 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mark 5:21-43 The Liturgy of today continues to reveal the power of Jesus over all things, an indication of his divine power. Both the healing of the woman with a haemorrhage and that of the raising of the daughter of Jairus from death defied earthly powers, and the Gospel writer acknowledged this (cf. Marks26, 29:35, 42). While the supremacy of Jesus over all power is the most essential thing that the Liturgy points to, the themes...

⏰Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) 📕Ezek 17:22-24; Ps 92:1-2, 12-13, 14-15 (R.v.1a); 2 Cor 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34 The theme of today’s liturgical celebration finds its summary in the words of the prophet Habakkuk, “For this is a vision for the appointed time; it concerns the end and will not fail. If it lingers, wait for it, for it will surely come and will not be delayed” (Hab 2:3). In both the First Reading and the Gospel, the kingdom of God was compared to a growing shoot that continues steadily until it becomes a very big shrub that provides...

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Gen 3:9-15; Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7b-8 (R.v.7bc); 2 Cor 4:13 – 5:1; Mark 3:20-35 There is something I have come to know and appreciate about Jesus, he never stops working for our good and he is never tired of doing good. Even when he comes home to rest, he never does so once he sees any face that is in need. That is a good news my dear. It means that he is working now for my good; he is equally working for your good. And no opposition or power can stop...

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Lev 13:1-2, 44-46; Ps 32:1-2, 5, 11 (R.v.7); 1 Cor 10:31 1:1; Mark 1:40-45 Following the Churchs Liturgical Calendar, the Forty Days of Lent begin with Ash Wednesday in this week. During the period, the voice of the Prophet Joel would ring out once more, “Even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping and with mourning; and tear your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord for he is gracious and merciful.” Providentially, today, being the last Sunday before the Lent begins, the...

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) Job 7:1-4, 6-7; Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 (R. see v.3a); 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39 In our world of today, suffering abounds in great measure in such a way that the book of Job would not be difficult for most people to understand. What is normally difficult to understand is why righteous men do suffer too, when suffering is often associated with evil. That was the confusion in Jobs case that led to his lamentation. It was also a problem in Jesus time (cf. John 9:2) and very rampant in our time,...