December 6, 2015 - Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

First Reading 
Baruch 5:1-9
Jerusalem shall see the splendor of God's glory.Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 126:1-2,2-3,4-5,6
A song of praise for God's great deeds
Second Reading 
Philippians 1:4-6,8-11
Paul prays for the Philippians.
Gospel ReadingLuke 3:1-6
This
week and next, our Gospel readings invite us to consider John the Baptist and
his relationship to Jesus. John the Baptist appears in the tradition of the
great prophets, preaching repentance and reform to the people of Israel. To
affirm this, Luke quotes at length from the prophet Isaiah. John baptizes for
repentance and for forgiveness of sins, preparing the way for God's salvation.

November 29, 2015 - First Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

First Reading 
Jeremiah 33:14-16
The Lord will fulfill his promises to Israel and Judah.
Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 25:4-5,8-9,10,14
The Lord will teach us his paths.
Second Reading 
1 Thessalonians 3:12—4:2
Paul encourages the Thessalonians to be holy and to please God.
Gospel ReadingLuke 21:25-28,34-36
Jesus teaches his disciples to be vigilant so that they will be ready when the
Son of Man comes in glory.
In this new liturgical year that
begins this week, the Gospel of Luke will be the primary Gospel proclaimed
(Lectionary Cycle C). This week we hear Jesus speak to his disciples about the
need for vigilance and prayer as they wait for the coming of the Son of Man in
glory. This passage marks the conclusion of a lengthy dialogue in which Jesus
predicts the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, warns about the
persecution and tribulations to follow, and identifies the signs that will
signal the coming of the Son of Man in glory

November 22 - Feast of Christ the King: His kingdom come!

First Reading  Daniel 7:13-14
Daniel prophesies about the coming of the Son of Man.Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 93:1,1-2,5
A prayer of praise to God our kingSecond Reading  Revelation 1:5-8
Jesus is the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of all.Gospel ReadingJohn 18:33b-37
This Sunday, at the end of Church’s liturgical year, the readings
describe the enthronement of the victorious Christ as King in Heaven in all his
glory. Instituting this Feast of Christ the King, Pope Pius XI proclaimed: “Pax
Christi in regno Christi” (the peace of Christ in the reign of Christ).
This means that we live in the peace of Christ when we surrender our lives to
him every day, accept him as our God, Savior and King and allow him to rule our
lives. In today’s Gospel Jesus speaks of kings and kingship, yet he is not
referring to power but to truth. Pilate fails to understand: can there be a
power not obtained by human means? A power which does not respond to the logic
of domination and force? Jesus came to reveal and bring a new kingship, that of
God; he came to bear witness to the truth of a God who is love (cf. 1 Jn
4:8,16), who wants to establish a kingdom of justice, love and peace (cf.
Preface). Whoever is open to love hears this testimony and accepts it with
faith, to enter the kingdom of God.

November 15 - Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Life is short

 
First Reading  Daniel 12:1-3
Daniel prophesies about the judgment of the last days.
Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 16:5,8,9-10,11
God protects us and shows us the path of life.
Second Reading  Hebrews 10:11-14,18
Jesus' offering for sin has made all to be consecrated perfect forever.
Gospel ReadingMark 13:24-32
In this, the second-to-the-last week of the
Church year, Jesus has finally made it to Jerusalem. Near to His passion and
death, He gives us a teaching of hope—telling us how it will be when He returns
again in glory. The Gospel text is an eschatological (i.e., an End of Time)
image. Jesus is being typically provocative, trying to cajole his audience into
thinking large and imagining what is really important among all the
complexities and clutter of normal human life. Today’s Gospel narrative is from
the 13th Chapter of Mark’s Gospel account, sometimes labeled
“The Little Apocalypse.” It uses what 20th Century people
called technicolor and surround-sound by way of dramatizing the imaginary end
of the created universe. Jesus was very serious about getting people to think
somewhat more critically than they were culturally accustomed to doing. He
tried to move them away from the idea of merely earning God’s approval, and
toward the idea of engaging life ever-more fully, thoughtfully, justly, and
wisely. The just and the wise would recognize “the Son of Man coming in the
clouds” as a sign of God’s presence and justice.

November 8 - Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time: to give thankfully

 First Reading  1 Kings 17:10-16
Through Elijah, a widow and her son are blest with enough flour and oil to
supply them for a year.
Responsorial
Psalm   Psalm 146:7,8-9 9-10
A prayer of praise to God who raises up the lowly
Second Reading   Hebrews 9:24-28
Christ died once to take away sin; he will return again to bring salvation.
Gospel ReadingMark 12:38-44 (shorter form, Mark 12:41-44)
In
today's well-known Gospel story (Mark 12:38-44), Jesus praises the poor widow's
offering, and makes it clear that the standard measurement for assessing gifts
is not how much we give to the works of God or how much we put in the
collection basket, but how much we have left for ourselves. Those who give
out of their abundance still have abundance left. It is said that there are
three kind of givers: grudge givers (“I hate to give”), duty givers (“I ought
to give”) and thanks givers (“I want to give”). Do we give grudgingly or
dutifully or thankfully? The best way to give is to give thankfully, i.e. with
a generous and full heart. In their self-sacrifice, these widows embody the
love that Jesus last week revealed as the heart of the Law and the Gospel. They
mirror the Father’s love in giving His only Son, and Christ’s love in
sacrificing himself on the cross. And again we are called to imitate His
sacrifice of love in our own lives. We will be judged, not by how much we
give—for the scribes and wealthy contribute far more than the widow. Rather, we
will be judged by whether our gifts reflect our livelihood, our whole beings,
all our heart and soul, mind and strength.

Nov 1 - Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time: What are your Priorities?

 
First Reading  Revelation 7:2-4,9-14
John describes his vision: those who have endured the trials worship the Lamb.
Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 24:1-2,3-4,5-6
Those who seek the face of the Lord shall be rewarded.
Second Reading  1 John 3:1-3
We are God's children now.
Gospel ReadingMatthew 5:1-12
In
the Judaism of Jesus' time there were two opposite tendencies. On the one hand
there was a tendency to endlessly multiply the commandments and precepts of the
law, creating norms and obligations for every minimal detail of life. On the
other hand there was the desire to look underneath this suffocating congeries
of norms to find those things that really count for God, the spirit of all the
commandments. The scribe's question and Jesus' response are situated in this
approach to the essentials of the law, in this desire not to get lost in the
thousand other secondary precepts. It is precisely this lesson about method
that above all we must learn from today's gospel. There are things in life that
are important but not urgent (in the sense that nothing will happen if we let
them slide); and vice versa, there are things that are urgent but not
important. The danger is that we will systematically sacrifice the important
things to pursue those that are urgent but often secondary. What are the
priorities, in your life? To health, family, friends and character -- we need
to add two others, which are the biggest of all, the two greatest commandments:
love God and your neighbour.

October 25 - Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time: leaving behind the cloak in order to come closer to Christ

First Reading  Jeremiah 31:7-9
The Lord declares himself to be the Father of Israel.
Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 126:1-2,2-3,4-5,6
A song of praise to God who does great things
Second Reading  Hebrews 5:1-6
Christ was made high priest by God.
Gospel ReadingMark 10:46-52
In
today’s Gospel we see how everyone discouraged Bartimaeus when he wanted to
meet Jesus. But he refused to be silenced, and the heart of Christ didn’t
let him down. St Mark makes a point of explaining that Bartimaeus “threw
aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.” The Fathers of the Church
have seen in this cloak a symbol of self- sufficiency, a symbol of our
deep-seated tendency to think that we are capable of solving all of our
problems on our own. The cloak symbolizes all those things that we wrongly
depend on for happiness, that we tend to idolize: good looks, intelligence,
athletic ability, money, good education, success, popularity etc Then, when he
hears the Lord’s call, he doesn’t hesitate to cast off his cloak
and spring forward, teaching us all that our only sufficiency should be
Jesus Christ.

October 18 - Twenty Ninth Sunday in the Ordinary Time: Power

First Reading  Isaiah 53:10-11
Through his suffering, the servant of Yahweh will justify many.
Responsorial Psalm  Psalm
33:4-5,18-19,20,22
A prayer of praise for God's mercy
Second Reading  Hebrews 4:14-16
Jesus is the high priest who sympathizes with our weakness.
Gospel ReadingMark 10:35-45 (shorter form Mark 10:42-45)
According to the Gospel
James and John saw authority when they asked Jesus for seats at his right and
left. Like typical careerists and opportunists they were looking for a
comfortable position for themselves. Most people see authority as a chance to
promote their own honour and glory. But Christ saw it differently. He saw it as
an opportunity to serve others – to promote the good of others rather than to
promote one’s own honour and glory. He said “look at the pagan rulers. See
how they lord over their subjects. It must not be like that among you must be
the one in authority must be the one who serves”. Surely this is the most
revolutionary thing ever said about authority. It makes for true greatness. All
of us exercise authority in some way or the other. We have to examine
ourselves. Do we exercise authority according to the spirit of Christ? Let us
not presume that we are necessarily superior to or better than, those we
command. A uniform, a promotion, a position of authority, these of themselves
do not make us better persons.

October 11 - Twenty Eighty Sunday in Ordinary Time: Riches

 First Reading  Wisdom 7:7-11
Wisdom is preferred above gold and silver.
Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 90:12-13,14-15,16-17
The Lord fills us with love and joy.
Second Reading  Hebrews 4:12-13
The Word of God exposes the heart.
Gospel ReadingMark 10:17-30 (shorter form Mark 10:17-27)
The rich man was capable
of doing more than just keeping the commandments, but he lacked the commitment
to do so. Today's Gospel story makes it painfully clear that there is more to
Christianity than just keeping the commandments. Jesus made it clear to the
rich man that Christianity is more than just a set of negative commands like
not staling or not cheating. Christianity is far more positive. It is about
doing what you can in generosity and love: "Have you ever used your wealth
to feed the hungry, clothe the naked or shelter the homeless?" We are like
the rich man in today's gospel. we have kept the commandments too, but we
haven't been able to reach out as generously as we could to the needy, the
naked, and the hungry. Let us reflect. 

October 4 – Twenty seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Marriage and Divorce

First Reading  Genesis 2:18-24
God creates woman from Adam's rib.
Responsorial Psalm  Psalm
128:1-2,3,4-5,6
A prayer for God's blessing
Second Reading  Hebrews 2:9-11
Christ was made perfect through suffering so that we might all be consecrated.
Gospel ReadingMark 10:2-16 (shorter form Mark 10:2-12)
The Pharisees
question Jesus about the lawfulness of divorce. In reply, Jesus quotes from the
Book of Genesis and counters that God's original intention was that men and
women would become one flesh in marriage. Jesus describes the teaching of Moses
as a concession made to God's original intention because of human stubbornness.
Jesus' teaching was more restrictive than the teaching of the Pharisees, which
permitted remarriage. Divorce tears apart the bonding and the union that love
impels us to attain. Divorce, Jesus says, has to do with laws. Marriage has to
do with love. Marriage is far more than merely a license to live together.
Marriage takes us back to our beginnings, to Adam and Eve. When read together,
however, these passages present a strong picture of Jesus' emphasis on the
importance of family. God intended for women and men to be joined together in
marriage. Among the purposes of marriage is the raising of children. By
welcoming children and fostering their relationship with God, parents and
families bear witness to the Kingdom of God. It is our responsibility to speak in
support of marriage as a lifelong commitment between one man and one woman in
an enduring bond of love. This union is ordered to both the mutual good of the
spouses and to the procreation and raising of children.

September 26 – Twenty Sixth Sunday in ordinary Time: acknowledge the good others do

First Reading  Numbers 11:25-29
The Lord bestows his spirit on the seventy elders.
Responsorial Psalm  Psalm
19:8,10,12-13,14
The Law of the Lord brings joy.
Second Reading  James 5:1-6
James chastises the rich.
Gospel ReadingMark 9:38-43,45,47-48
This Sunday’s Gospel
presents one of those episodes in Christ’s life which, even if they are noted,
so to speak en passant, contain a profound meaning (cf. Mk
9:38-41). The event involved someone who was not a follower of Jesus but who
had expelled demons in his name. The Apostle John, a young man and ardently
zealous as he was, wanted to prevent him but Jesus did not permit this; on on
the contrary, he drew inspiration from this circumstance to teach his disciples
that God could work good and even miraculous things even outside their circle,
and that it is possible to cooperate with the cause of the Kingdom of God in
different ways, even by simply offering a missionary a glass of water (v.
41).St Augustine wrote in this regard: “as, therefore, there is in the Catholic
— meaning the Church — something which is not Catholic, so there may be
something which is Catholic outside the Catholic Church” (cf. On
Baptism, Against the Donatists, PL 43, VII, 39, 77). Therefore if a
stranger to the community does good works in Christ’s name, so long as he does
so with upright intentions and with respect, members of the Church must not
feel jealous but must rejoice. Even within the Church, people can find it
difficult, in the spirit of deep communion, to value and appreciate good things
achieved by the different ecclesial entities. Instead, we must all and always
be able to appreciate one another, praising God for the infinite “creativity”
with which he acts in the Church and in the world.

September 20 - Twenty fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time: becoming the first to serve

First Reading  Wisdom 2:12,17-20
The just one is put to the test.
Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 54:3-4,5,6 & 8
A prayer for God's protection.
Second Reading  James 3:16—4:3
James teaches about the wisdom from above.
Gospel ReadingMark 9:30-37
There
is something about being human that drives us to succeed, to want to achieve
things. For some people they target greatness, look at our Olympic and
Paralympic athletes, for others maybe the ambition is smaller, getting the kids
to eat breakfast and get to school on time is challenge enough. Ambition,
drive, success and winning are the themes of today. And our teaching from
Christ today seems contradictory, "If anyone wants to be first, they must
ke themselves last of all." The message doesn't fit with the way we see
the world ork. Our
society tells us that being right, being first, being the best is all
important. But society is wrong. There is nothing good or important about being
first, however there is only one thing bad about being right, or first or best,
and that one thing is doing something just to be right or just to be the best
or just to be the first. Following our lord is
not easy. He never promised it would be. Selflessness is not in our nature,
pride and greed are. If you are to be a follower of Christ you needs put your
human nature last to enable you to put your spiritual nature first. Work hard,
but always for others, strive to do your best, but resist the urge just to be
the best, if you are the best thank God that you are able to serve so well.

September 13 - Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Where Sorrow is there is holy ground

First Reading  Isaiah 50:5-9a
The suffering servant of Yahweh is assured of God's help.
Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 116:1-2,3-4,5-6,8-9
A prayer of praise to God for his salvation
Second Reading  James 2:14-18
James teaches that faith must be demonstrated in one's works.
Gospel ReadingMark 8:27-35
The Christian under
sanding of Christ has to include the idea of suffering, death and resurrection.
To attempt to hold Jesus back from his divinely ordained path is to play
Satan's game to frustrate God's gift of life to the world through the costly "service"
he must render. In the same way we are called to 'get behind him' in the sense
of following him along "his way" rather than standing "in his
way". We know that suffering and sorrow are a part of life. There's no way
we can escape them. The important thing isn't the sorrow that befall us but how
we respond to them. The important thing is what we do about them. We can turn
them into something constructive, not destructive. We can turn them into
something that is life-giving and not death-dealing. we can turn them into
something that makes us better, not bitter. Let the Lord have His way and let
us follow that path in trust.

September 6 - Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: The gift of receiving and the gift of transmitting

 First Reading  Isaiah 35:4-7a
Isaiah prophesies about God's vindication.
Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 146:7,8-9,9-10
A song of praise to God
Second Reading  James 2:1-5
James teaches that there is to be no partiality within the Christian community.
Gospel ReadingMark 7:31-37
The healing which is recorded
in the Gospel, which follows the pattern of healings in Mark, is intended to be
read as one more indication of the arrival and nature of the messianic times.
Each healing and each miracle is like a pointer to one more aspect of Jesus as
‘the Christ’. At the end of the healing, the crowd’s reaction and amazement is
a direct allusion to the reaction described in Isa 35:5-6; and for Mark, the
healing taken with the reaction is an indication that the glorious future,
which was long awaited, is already a reality in Jesus. St John gives us
the key to interpret Jesus’ miracles. Whereas the other evangelists refer to
the miracles as “wonders” or “powers”, John calls them “signs”; for him the
miracles point beyond themselves to the “kingdom of God”.  The gift of new hearing
allows us to hear the word of God in our gatherings, in the situations and ups
and downs of life, and in our consciences. We can come to know that God loves
us, cares for us, and calls us to be his ministers and his witnesses. The gift
of new speech allows us to praise him in prayer, to proclaim the
truth to sisters and brothers, and to announce the good news of Jesus. God’s
gift to us is the gift of receiving and the gift of transmitting. We are
enabled to hear the word of God, and we are empowered to communicate the word
of God. In opening our ears and lips, Jesus gathers us up into his own divine
life.

August 30 - Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time: why we do what we do?

 First Reading  Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-8
Moses tells the Israelites to observe the commandments that God gave them.
Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 15:2-3,3-4,4-5
Those who do justice will find favor with God.
Second Reading  James 1:17-18,21b-22,27
James teaches that Christians should be doers of the Word.
Gospel ReadingMark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23
For the Jews Religious was slowly degenerating
into an activity of performing external rituals. Which is to say that external
rituals (like washing hands before meals) was becoming identified with being
religious and serving God. Therefore Jesus in today’s Gospel warns against
identifying religion with performing external acts. The point is this: we can
do all religious acts but for the wrong reason. That is we can perform all
religious rituals but without love and mercy. What counts is not what we do. What
counts is the love in our heart that motivates us to do what we do. If our
heart is filled with bitterness or pride or jealousy, then all the external
practices in the world won’t make us holy before God.  In short, what
counts in religion is not what we do, but why we do it. What counts is the love
in our hearts: love of God and love of neighbor. 

August 23 - Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time : Do you want to quit?

 First Reading  Joshua
24:1-2a,15-17,18b
Joshua and the people declare that they will serve the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm  Psalm
34:2-3,16-17,18-19,20-21
The Lord hears the cries of the just.
Second Reading  Ephesians 5:21-32
(or shorter form Ephesians 5:2a,25-32)
Husbands and wives should love one another as Christ loves the Church.
Gospel ReadingJohn 6:60-69
There are times in life
when we are pushed to the wall, when we are ready to quit. There are times in
life when we need something to hold on to. We see this in today's Gospel. The
disciples of Jesus are pushed to the wall. Their faith in Jesus is challenged
severely by what Jesus said earlier about giving them his body to eat. The
disciples respond to the challenged in two ways: one group part company with
Jesus and no longer walk with him. The second group meet the challenge
successfully and remain faithful to Jesus. The group who left did so because
they had their attention fixed on the problem where as the group who stayed did
so because they had their attention fixed on Jesus. In which group do you want
to be? The choice is yours?

August 16 - Twentieth Sunday in ordinary Time: To become what we receive

First Reading  Proverbs 9:1-6
Wisdom has set a feast before us.
Responsorial Psalm   Psalm
34:2-3,4-5,6-7
A prayer of praise to God for his goodness
Second Reading  Ephesians 5:15-20
Filled with the Spirit, Christians strive to follow the will of the Lord.
Gospel ReadingJohn 6:51-58
Love demands union. The greater the love, the more intimate is the union
desired. The lover longs to be joined to the beloved – in thought, in letters,
in phone conversations, in physical presence, and ultimately – in spousal love
– through the love embrace between husband and wife. So much does Jesus love us
that he conceals himself under what looks like bread in order to ravish us in
the love embrace of Holy Communion! Such was the meaning of one of the early
Church Fathers, St. John Chrysostom, when he wrote: “How many of you say, I
would like to see his face, his garments, his sandals. You do see him, you
touch him, you eat him. He gives himself to you, not only that you may see him
– but also to be your food and your nourishment.”
The Eucharist is a prayer,
it is a sacrifice. It is a blessing and it is also a challenge. We have to
become what we behold, to become what we receive

August 9 - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Eucharist – a foretaste of heaven

 First Reading  1 Kings 19:4-8
The Lord feeds Elijah, strengthening him for his journey to Horeb.Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 34:2-3,4-5,6-7,8-9
A prayer of praise to God for his goodnessSecond Reading  Ephesians 4:30—5:2
The Ephesians are encouraged to be imitators of Christ.Gospel ReadingJohn 6:41-51 Jesus calls himself
“the living bread that came down from heaven.” We need food that not only gives
us strength of body, keeps us alive here on earth, but food that strengthens us
for eternal life, keeps us for life forever. The Lord makes an amazing, a tremendous
promise, one that we may and should accept as it stands: “whoever eats this
bread will live forever.” We heard in the first reading about the wonderful
power of the food the Lord provided for Elijah. This food strengthened him for
a journey of forty days in the desert. This power of the food God gives, to
strengthen him for forty days, is only a sign and indication of the much more
marvelous power of this bread of life, the Eucharist, which strengths not for
forty days, but for life forever, for eternal life. In the
Eucharist Christ gives us himself totally. He comes to us and becomes our
bread, our food for that life with God that never ends. Christ's love overcame
death. He who is united in faith and love with Christ, will live forever, soul
and body, according to the Lord's promise: "I will raise him on the last
day."
 

August 2 - Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Food that lasts for ever

First Reading  Exodus 16:2–4,
12–15
The Lord feeds the Israelites with mannaResponsorial Psalm  Psalm 78:3–4,
23–24, 25, 54
A song of praise to God for his deeds to Israel.
Second Reading  Ephesians 4:17,
20–24
Christians become a new creation in Christ.
Gospel Reading
John 6:24–35 
Jesus tells the
crowd in this week’s Gospel that they are following him for the wrong reasons.
They seek him because he filled their bellies. The Israelites, too, were
content to follow God so long as there was plenty of food. Food is the most
obvious of signs—because it is the most basic of our human needs.  We need
our daily bread to live. But we cannot live by this bread alone. We need the
bread of eternal life that preserves those who believe in him. The manna in the
wilderness, like the bread Jesus multiplied for the crowd, was a sign of God’s
Providence—that we should trust that he will provide. These signs pointed to
their fulfillment in the Eucharist, the abundant bread of angels we sing about
in this week’s Psalm. This is the food that God longs to give us. This is the
bread we should be seeking. But too often we don’t ask for this bread. Instead
we seek the perishable stuff of our everyday wants and anxieties. In our
weakness we think these things are what we really need.

July 26 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: To place in the hands of Jesus

 First Reading  2 Kings 4:42-44
Elisha the prophet feeds 100 people with 20 barley loaves.Responsorial Psalm  Psalm 145:10-11,15-16,17-18
The Lord feeds his people and answers their needs.Second Reading  Ephesians 4:1-6
The Ephesians are encouraged to live the unity of their Baptism.Gospel ReadingJohn 6:1-15Today’s readings invite us to look into our hearts and to ask ourselves
this question: How much of our lives and our resources are we currently placing
in the hands of Jesus to do with as he wishes? Like the boy in today’s Gospel
who gave Jesus the little he had we too are called to place what we have in His
hands: our time, our talent, our prayers, our sacrifices, our resources and He
will use in a way that will exceed our greatest expectations. He will multiply
them beyond anything we dreamed of, Just as he did the boy’s loaves and fish.
Little is always much in the hands of the Lord.