PS 27:7-8A, 8B-9ABC, 13-14,
Luke 10:1-12 Full Readings
Saint Thérèse of LisieuxToday's first reading from the book of Job presents to us a faithful man Job. Despite losing everything in life, he still says that, "I know that my Redeemer lives" and didn't curse God. This is an encouragement to remain faithful to us whatever we pass through, we are under his care.
Psalm 88: 10bc-11.12-13.14—15,
Luke 9 :57-62 Full Readings
Beloved brethren, In today's Gospel we hear Jesus saying, “Foxes have holes but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head,” He went about doing good, he healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the hungry and comforted the afflicted. Yet he was homeless and poor, making his home with the wretched of the earth. That was his life and that is the path every believer is called to follow. It is a call to a life of total self-giving and sacrifice; to live for God and for others without counting the cost. And once we say Yes, there is no backing down or turning back, for only cowards do that! How much sacrifice can we make in the service of the Lord? In today's Gospel let us reflect on the following aspects concerning the three would-be disciples and their attitudes.
PS 138:1-2AB, 2CDE-3, 4-5
John 1:47-51 Full Readings
Saints Michael, Gabriel, and RaphaelToday the church celebrates the archangels, Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Who are they and why do we celebrate them? They are the unseen and unsoiled spirits poised at God’s command. Michael means “God’s healing.” We remember Archangel Michael who battles Satan to affirm God’s supremacy. We remember Gabriel who delivered the good news to Mary. We remember Raphael for his work as a healer in the home of Tobit. We never walk alone; we are surrounded by millions of angels!
Psalm 17:1.2-3.6-7,
Luke 9:46-50 Full Readings
Saint WenceslausBeloved friends, when we think of children, our first thoughts are of how much trouble they give, how petty and naïve they appear. Think of how bothersome their noise could be around you when you are on an important phone call. Think of the anger when in their innocence they scratch lines on your car. Watch a pack of them yapping, running and jumping, bouncing aimlessly, kicking one another or breaking down a door. Yet in our gospel text of today, Jesus insists that if we must see God, we must look to children. But how are we to understand this? Of course, despite their pettiness, children are highly dependent, trusting, innocent and simple with no sense of self-importance. In which case, to belong to the kingdom of God, we must recognize our dependence and nothingness and yield ourselves to receive the kingdom as a gift of God.
Psalm 25:4-5.6-7.8-9,
Philippians 2:1-11,
Matthew 21:28-32 Full Readings
Saint Vincent de PaulIn the parable of the gospel we see two kinds of attitudes among Christians today. To do the will of the Father does not mean performing religious rituals, but following the commandment of love. The first reading shows us the people of Israel in exile because they did not do the will of their Father. The second reading uses another example, exactly the opposite of the first. Jesus does the will of his Father unto death on the cross.
Psalm 90: 3-4.5-6.12-13,
Luke 9: 43b-45 Full Readings
Saint Paul VI, Saints Cosmas and Damian, MartyrsToday's Gospel presents to us the prediction of Jesus of his suffering. The disciples could not however understand that the Messiah would suffer and were left confused and could not even ask any more questions. The first reading encourages the youth to enjoy life when they are still young so that when they grow old, they should not again go back to behave like young men and women. It encourages the youth to enjoy and satisfy all their hearts' desires but they have to keep in mind that whatever they do has to be subjected to judgement by God. Therefore, in enjoying and satisfying their desires, they must do it in a way pleasing to God and above all doing the will of the Father. Otherwise judgement awaits them. From the gospel let us reflect on these three aspects.
Psalm 144: la and 2abc.3-4,
Luke 9: 18-22 Full Readings
Saints Louis Martin and Zélie GuérinWhile some try to avoid the question and others try to tiptoe closer. This is Jesus' question that we all must answer. Not who your parents, spouse, priests, pastors, teachers, or friends say Jesus is, but who you say He is. It is a question that must be answered at the level of a personal encounter with Jesus. He wants us to be clear about his identity and the more we discover who he is, the more we place him at the center of our lives, we make him our Lord and personal savior.
Readings: ECCL 1:2-11,
PS 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 AND 17BC,
LK 9:7-9 Full Readings
Brethren, in today’s Gospel we are presented with the perplexity of Herod caused by hearing that another prophet (Jesus) has rose up after he had mercilessly beheaded John the Baptist. Jesus was performing works and miracles and preaching with authority far more than John the Baptist. People thought that it was John baptized who had risen up, or Elijah or one of the Great prophets has resurfaced. Why was Herod perplexed (guilty conscience of the past)? First because he had beheaded JB who was very innocent, even his conscience was telling. To hear the news that John Baptist has risen back (remember there was no belief in resurrection among the Sadducees) and is doing more works than before had nothing but to make him afraid and fearful. Who is then is this? Herod asked, (cf Luke 9:20 =who do people say I am?). He confesses that he murdered John Baptist and even sought to see Jesus. This seeking was only out of curiosity but not by inspiration to know and hear the word of God. Luke does not tell us if he met him but it was a preparation for Herod to meet Jesus in the passion narrative (Luke 23:8-12). Some reflections from the Gospel.
Ps 119:29.72.89.101.104.163,
Luke 9: 1-6 Full Readings
Saint Pio of PietrelcinaToday's Gospel presents to us the sending of disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God which is at hand and the instructions they are to follow. In today's Gospel Jesus is instructing His disciples on how they are to carry out their mission. First of all, they are to proclaim the Kingdom of God and perform miracles. Secondly they are to carry nothing for their journey for the worker deserves his or her pay, the people they are proclaiming too will take care of them.
Psalm 119:1.27.30.34.35.44,
Luke 8:19-21) Full Readings
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and CompanionsHow would you feel to be a mother of the president? What about being a sister or a brother of Bill Gates? What about a child of the Queen of England? I can imagine that feeling; you can feel that you are the top of the world. Brethren, if you can feel like that with these worldly and mortal people, what about if you are the mother, or brother or sister of Jesus or a child of God?
Ephesians 4: 1-7.11-13,
Psalm 19:2-3.4-5,
Matthew 9:9-13 Full Readings
Saint MatthewBrethren, Let us first know about the Saint of the day, St Matthew, the evangelist and Apostle. Born at Capernaum, this tax collector, also known as Levi, was called to discipleship by the Lord as he was sitting at his customs office. Tradition holds that he wrote a collection of sayings of Jesus in Aramaic, and inspired the Gospel which bears his name. The Gospel of Matthew is addressed to a Jewish community, and presents Jesus as the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. Matthew is said to have preached the faith in the East.
Psalm 145:2-3.8—9.17-18, (Watch it here)
Philippians 1:20c-24.27,
Matthew 20: 1-16 Full Readings
Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasangn and Companions
Brethren, how can we describe God? We cannot fully describe him because as humans we are limited in our descriptions of God. Even the wisest person on earth cannot describe Him, but what we can be sure of is that his thoughts are not like ours, his ways are not like ours and he cannot be compared with us nor with anything else. Brethren, if we are aware of this truth, there is no need of being envious of others for their gifts, their success, or because of getting more than us while we work harder than them. This truth should lead us to appreciate God for what we are, what we have, and for all the blessings we have rather than being envious of the success of others.
Psalm 56: 10.11-12.13- 14,
Luke 8:4- 15 Full Readings
Saint JanuariusToday we reflect on the version of Luke of the parable of the sower who sowed his seeds and they fell off on different soils.
Psalm 17:1.6-7.8,
Luke 8:1-3 Full Readings
Today's Gospel presents to us the role played by women in the mission of Jesus Christ. We see many women including Mary Magdalene from whom Jesus has chased out seven demons, Joanna, wife of Herod' steward Chuza, Susanna and many others following Jesus. What is interesting to note is that these women not only were following Jesus as true disciples but they were also providing for him and His Apostles. We credit them their discipleship and generosity.
Psalm 118:1-2.15c-17.28,
Luke 7:36-50 Full Readings
Saint Robert BellarmineIn today's Gospel we see mainly two aspects: devotion and repentance, and the welcome of sinners by Jesus. On the side of Jesus, Luke always tries to portray Jesus as the friend of sinners in most of his parables. We see Jesus being invited by a Pharisee to his house and the woman with a bad name and reputation in the whole city came and started bathing the feet of Jesus with her tears, wiping them with her hair, kissing them and anointing them with the most expensive ointment. It surprised the Pharisees that Jesus whom people regarded as a prophet could not recognise how sinful that woman was. It is not that Jesus did not know how sinful that woman was, but he showed his mercy to the woman and welcomed her as a sinner for Jesus came for sinners not for righteousness. Today reflect on how willing you are to come to Jesus who is ready to welcome everyone especially sinners who return to him.
Psalm 33 :2-3.4-5. 12,
Luke 7:31-35 Full Readings
Saint CorneliusBeloved brethren, Jesus looks at his generation and calls it a childish generation. They have become depraved and perverse. They reject that which is sane and good and embrace that which is evil. They call evil good and tag good evil. They spurn God’s love and become obstinate in their rejection of God’s goodness. John came and lived an austere life, they named him a mad eccentric and put his head on a platter of gold. Jesus came, ate, drank and socialized, and they tagged him a drunkard and dragged him to a cross. Our generation seems similar to that of Jesus in its childishness. We complain of lack of time but we waste time gossiping. We pray for the fruit of the womb and also fight for the right to abort. We cry to God for protection and we reject his laws about the use of freedom. The words of Saint Paul should stir us: “When I was a child I spoke like a child and reasoned like a child but now that I am old, I leave my childish ways.”
Ps 31:1-2ab.2cd-3.4-5.14-15. 19,
John 19:25-27 Full Readings
Our Lady of SorrowsBrethren, Mary our Mother, mother of God, Queen of heaven, has the many celebrated feasts on the catholic saints' calendar. Most of her feasts and memorials are happy feasts but today we celebrate her as our Lady of Sorrows. Being the mother of God, Queen of heaven and many titles which she has did not mean she could not suffer nor not to have sorrows in her heart. We can see many passages in the Gospels which show that Mary had sorrows in her heart. For instance:
Ps78:1-2.34-35.36—37.38,
Philippians 2:6-11,
John 3:13-17 Full Readings
Exaltation of the Holy CrossToday we celebrate the Feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross of Jesus. If it was not by the cross of Jesus we would all be dying in our sins but through his humility, though he was God (Philippians 2:6-11), he accepted the cross, died on it so that we are all forgiven of all our sins and the doors of heaven to be opened for us. What a great feast it is today! We are celebrating a feast of our victory not just victory over simple enemies but over our greatest enemy: death and sin.
Psalm 116: 12-13.17-1 8,
Luke 6:43-49 Full Readings
Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin MaryIs it on a rock? Is it on Sand? Does your life produce good fruits or bad ones? How can we know a good foundation on which to build our lives? How can we be able to produce good fruits? The Gospel today as well as first reading answers these questions.
Psalm 84:3.4.5—6.12 (R. 2),
Luke 6:39-42 Full Readings
Saint CyprianBeloved brethren, we live in a hyper-judgmental culture. We tag others and label them monsters: “he is a thief”, “he is too arrogant”, “she is too rigid”, “they are too poor for your level”, “you can’t afford me”, “she lives in a ghetto”, “he can’t speak good English.” These and more such assertions often sound simple and harmless; yet, they have tremendously poisoned love and harmony. Nobody wants to be around someone who constantly condemns them or others. To find fault is easy but to live better may be difficult. Jesus’ teaching in the gospel of today provides a practical guide to spiritual growth. He says it is a sign of hypocrisy to tag others as evil while we paint saintly pictures of ourselves. The only path to peace is to reduce the amount of judgement in our lives and gradually seal our lips when tempted to utter judgement about others.
Psalm 139: 1-3.13-14ab.23-24,
Luke 6:27-38 Full Readings
Saint Thomas of VillanovaLuke's version of the beatitudes gives a detailed message about the relationship we should have with our fellows, Matthew puts emphasis on Christian attitudes but Luke focuses more on the blessing of those in real and dire need.
Psalm 45: 11-12.14-15,
Luke 6:20-26 Full Readings
Saint Peter ClaverToday we reflect on Luke's version of the beatitudes. They are parallel to those of Matthew as Jesus now is on the plain but all give the same teachings and are fundamental to Christian living.
Romans 8:28-30,
Matthew 1:1-16.18-23 Full Readings
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Today’s feast originated in Jerusalem towards the end of the fifth century. With the whole Church we honour Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was chosen in a special way to be the handmaid of the Lord and to play an important part in the history of salvation and in the mystery of our redemption.
Ps5:5-6.7.12,
Luke 6 :6- 11 Full Readings
Beloved brethren, it is clearly stated in Exodus 20:8; and Deuteronomy 5:12 that keeps the Sabbath Holy, and also to the tradition of the Jews, no single work would be done on this day even if it is saving somebody's life. But in the Gospel today Jesus shows that the law is made for man but man is made for God. When the law stands in the way of salvation, the Lord dispenses with the law and reaches out with love and compassion.
Psalm95: I-2.6-7abc.7d-9,
Romans l3:8-10,
Matthew 18:15-20 Full Readings
This Sunday's readings have a similar theme running through them, which is making peace through forgiveness and love for one another.
Today's Gospel is part of the community or ecclesial discourse which Matthew presents in the whole of Chapter 18 and gives the guidelines upon which the church of Christ will depend on in preserving the memory of Christ and in spreading the Gospel. Jesus today teaches us the best way to make peace with one another and says that if a person wrongs you or if you wrong any person, go to that person individually ask for forgiveness and if you win his or her heart then you have won your brother or sister back. But if the person refuses, don't give up take a trusted friend or friends who are not judgmental to talk to the person, and if the person refuses again, then tell the Christian community, and if the person refuses, you have done your part and you are no longer guilty, regard the other one as a gentile or tax collector (sinner). He also gives a stern warning that whatever we bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever we loosen here will be loosed in heaven and finally promises to be with us always and whatever we ask in His name we shall get.
Today's Gospel presents to us Jesus giving the true meaning of Sabbath. After the Apostles picked the ears of corn and ate them on Sabbath, the Pharisees blamed them for working on Sabbath for it was prohibited but Jesus responds to them that He desires mercy not sacrifice and that the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath.
Psalm 37:3-4.5-6.27-26.39-40,
Luke 5 :33-39 Full Readings
Today's Gospel presents to us two aspects of feasting and fasting. After being asked by the Pharisees about why his disciples are not fasting as John's disciples as wells the disciples of the Pharisees, Jesus tells them that they cannot fast when the bridegroom is still with them, when the bridegroom is taken away, then they will fast. He also brings in two parables of not putting a new cloth on the old one and not putting new wine in old wine skins.
Luke 5 : 1-11 Full Readings
Leave Everything and Follow Christ
As we celebrate the memorial of saint Pope Gregory, the Gospel today teaches us a very important message of following Christ and also invites us to follow Him and participate in the universal mission of fishing souls for God. After Peter and his companions, the two sons of Zebedee has spent the whole night fishing without catching anything, Jesus tells them to cast into the deep and behold they had a great catch, and at last he tells them that from then they are to be fishers of people and they left everything and followed Jesus. This is also known as the call of the first Apostles. Let us reflect on some important messages from first reading and the Gospel.
Psalm 33: 12-13.14-15.20-21,
Luke 4:38-44 Full Readings
Blessed John Francis Burte and CompanionsIn today's Gospel we see Jesus healing many people starting with Simon's mother in law and others. In this way he showed them love and mercy which he wants to show us too.
Christ Raises Us Up:
