Welcome to Fr. JohnBosco's Blog! Blog
⏰FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT (Year C) 📕Jer 33:14-16; Ps 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14 (R.v.1); 1 Thess 3:12 4:2; Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 Today, we begin a new Liturgical Year in the life of the Church. Hence, I wish to say a happy new year to you. My prayer is that in this new liturgical year, our spiritual strength would be more strengthened and we may be more prepared to meet Christ any time he calls us to come back to him. Amen. The readings of today invite us to allow our resolutions in this new liturgical year to be one...
⏰SATURDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK 📖Heb 4:12-16; Ps 19: 8, 9, 10, 15 (R. see John 6:63c); Mark 2:13-17 Can you try and make a spiritual journey with me for a moment? Assume the position of Levi in Mark 2:13-17. Imagine yourself at the commercial centre of the city making serious money like Levi, and then Jesus comes along to call you. Can you leave all your wealth behind to follow him as Levi did? Apart from that, Levi was considered a public sinner by the same society to which Jesus belonged. Yet Jesus broke protocols to call him. That...
⏰FRIDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK 📖Heb 4:1-5, 11; Ps 78: 3 and 4bc, 6c7, 8 (R.v.7b); Mark 2:1-12 Are you sure you have faith in God? If you do, you need a little perseverance to support it. There is bound to be challenges to your faith; you might even meet obstacles on your way to meet Christ. Do not be shaken! Your victory is in Christ (cf. Rom 8:37), and the key to unlock that victory is faith. Consider the case of the paralytic in Mark 2:1-12. The crowd formed an obstacle to him and his friends who were helping...
WEDNESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK Readings: Heb 2:14-18; Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9 (R.v.8a); Mark 1:29-39 Following the prophecy of Isaiah, the name of the child to be born the saviour is Immanuel, which means, God is with us (Isa 7:14). That prophecy is interpreted as having its perfect fulfillment in Jesus (Matt 1:23). Rightly so, Jesus came and immersed himself in the midst of the people. Remember what we said on Sunday concerning his baptism; he joined the queue of sinners going for baptism that he might identify with them. The Letter to the Hebrews reiterated the above...
TUESDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER Readings: Acts 2:36-41; Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20 and 22 (R.v.5b); John 20:11-18 Have you learnt anything yet from Mary Magdalene since the resurrection of Jesus? She has taught me what it means to be a faithful disciple of Jesus. In addition, she seems to know what it means to have hope against hope. She has taught me what it means to love Jesus. Her encounter with Jesus in John 20:14-16 confirms the saying of Jesus in the story of the Good Shepherd (John 10); the sheep knows the Shepherd and listens to his voice...
MONDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER Readings: Acts 2:14, 22-33; Ps 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11 (R.v.1); Matt 28:8-15 After the resurrection of Jesus, several stories were spread through the land through the instrumentality of many witnesses. With our understanding of the term “witness” to mean someone who sees something happen and so is able to describe it to other people, one would have thought that the stories would be the same thing. But no! For the Jews till today, he was taken away by his disciples. But for the Apostles, he is risen. How did the division begin?...
HOLY SATURDAY GET READY FOR JESUS’ ARRIVAL FOR THE PARTY; HIS VICTORY IS OUR VICTORY Great silence has befallen the earth. Hope you can feel it in your area. Do you understand what it means? There seems to be a setback in the mission of Jesus. He has just been buried few hours ago. The devil is now very happy thinking that he is victorious. Little does he know that Jesus can never be conquered. Even in death, he went down to minister to the souls that has been waiting for redemption from him (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church,...
MONDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK Readings: Lev 19:1-2, 11-18; Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15 (R. see John 6:63c); Matt 25:31-46 St John of the Cross is often quoted as saying that at the end of our lives, we shall be judged on love. And I think he was expressing just the obvious because love is the greatest commandment (Matt 22:36-40). If we are governed by love, then we do not necessarily need to begin to pick out the details of Lev 19:1-18. If we love others, we shall not steal from them as that would be depriving them of their...
SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY Readings: Isa 58:9c-14; Ps 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 (R.v.11ab); Luke 5:27-32 Do you know that fasting does not only imply abstinence from food? It also involves keeping away from certain pleasures especially those of them that offend God. There is no such effort that we make on our spiritual journey that God does not reward hundred-fold. The more charity we do, the more grace and blessings he gives us (cf. Isa 58:10-12). Note that that does not mean that God rewards us only because we have done something for him or that whatever blessing we get is...
FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY Readings: Isa 58:1-9a; Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19 (R.v.19bc); Matt 9:14-15 As we continue our Lenten observances, Jesus encourages us to focus on him as the reason and guide of all we do. His response to the question on why his disciples are not joining the crowd to fast says that much; the presence of the bridegroom determines the nature of fasting (cf. Matt 9:14-15). In that case, since Jesus is God (John 1:1; Phil 2:6) and God is love (1 John 4:16), all that we do at this time must be borne out of love –...
