26 th January : Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Light shines in darkness

First
Reading       : Isaiah 9:1-4
Psalm                    : Psalm 27:1, 4-9
Second Reading : 1 Corinthians
1:10-18
Gospel                  : Matthew 4:12-23
Jesus begins
his ministry not from the Holy city of Jerusalem but from Galilee, the land of
Herod Antipas, the ruler who had just arrested John the Baptist. Matthew saw
this as a fulfillment of ancient prophecy (Is 9:1-2). Light has come into a
land of darkness (Jn 8:12). Christ’s work goes on wherever even one true
follower of his is found for there still many who live in darkness and in the
shadow of death. Each of us has areas of darkness in our lives. Darkness can
stand for many things: fear, illness, pain, sin, error, loneliness, despair,
oppression etc. As followers of Christ we are called to be bearers of His
light. 
 
 

19th January : Second Sunday of the Ordinary Time - Pointing Christ out to others

  First
Reading       : Isaiah 49:1-7 Psalm                    : Psalm 40:1-11  Second
Reading : 1 Corinthians
1:1-9  Gospel                  : John 1:29-42 John the
Baptist found his reason for existence. He was to point out the Lamb of
God to the world.  His mission is not different from the mission of
every Christian.  We are to point out the Lamb of God to the
world. There is nothing greater that any of us can do in our lives than
point Christ out to others, first to our children who must follow us in
pointing to the Lord for others to find him, and then to all who meet us. John
the Baptist was not a typical person of his time.  He was
extraordinary.  When we consider his life, we realize that it was not
John’s dress or preaching that made him extraordinary, it was the fact that he
found the purpose for his life.  He looked to Jesus and said, “There
is the Lamb of God.” We have been called to do the same.

January 12th : Baptism of the Lord - Identity & Mission

First
Reading       : Isaiah 42:1-9 Psalm                    : Psalm 29 Second
Reading : Acts 10:34-43 Gospel                  : Matthew 3:13-17  
Today, we celebrate the
feast of Jesus’ baptism by John. His baptism marks the start of a new world, a
new creation. As Isaiah prophesied, the Spirit descends upon Jesus like a dove
- as the Spirit hovered over the face of the deep in the beginning (see Genesis
1:2). It was a special experience
in the life of Jesus and so made a lasting impact on His life. His Baptism
experience made clearer to Him that He is indeed God’s Son (divine identity:
“This
is my beloved son”) and that He was born with a special mission to fulfill (divine
Mission of salvation).  So today, let us see Jesus’
baptism as his new beginning for us and reawaken to our sonship in the Son (we
are God's children) and the mission which God has entrusted to each and every
one of us, that our Father might call us what he calls His Son - “my beloved. . .
in whom I am well pleased.” 

January 5 : The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord - The Star of Wonder

 First
Reading       : Jeremiah 31:7-14
Psalm                    : Psalm 147:12-20
Second
Reading : Ephesians 1:3-14
Gospel                  : John 1:(1-9),
10-18
 
In Matthew 2:
9-11, the ageless story describes a Star in the East guiding three wise
men, or magi, to the place of the divine birth of Christ. According to
medieval legends, the three wise men were named Melchior, Balthazar and Gaspar.
These three priest-kings and wisemen brought royal gifts to the divine infant:
gold, frankincense and myrrh. Melchior brought a golden cup, which, according
to legend, was preserved by the Blessed Virgin Mary and was the same cup used
in the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Balthazar brought a gold box of
frankincense. Gaspar brought a curiously chased flask of myrrh, a royal
embalming oil. The gift of gold symbolizes the kingship of Christ, which
represents our own true royal Self-hood and our giving of love and service as
directed and commanded by that Self. The gift of frankincense symbolizes the
Godhead of Christ and our own gifts of honour and reverence to our indwelling
Divinity. The gift of myrrh is a prophecy of the death and burial of the
earthly body of Christ, which represents our understanding and empathy for the
suffering of humanity. Let us pray that just as the Magi were guided by a star
we too be guided by the signs of the times to find God and worship Him.