30. IV SAT of Dedication of the Church

Mt. 4: 18-22: By calling the first disciples- Peter, Andrew, James and John by Jesus, we are told to turn to God with a change of heart. Their conversion makes a decisive change of life, renouncing all their possessions and family, and follow Jesus without knowing where he is leading them. They develop a Master (Guru) disciple (shishya) relationship of deep faith and trust on their Guru.

29. IV FRI of Dedication of the Church

Jn. 14: 1-6: The earthly home may be overcrowded. Not so of the heavenly abode. Heaven is as wide as the heart of God and there is room for all. And unlike men, God will never be shut out the doors for us. Jesus alone is the way to God and heaven. In him alone we see what God is like, and he alone can lead men into God’s presence without fear and without shame.

28. IV THU of Dedication of the Church

Jn. 17:12-19: Jesus prays for us and reminds us that we are being chosen by God and dedicated us for his special tasks. The special service that we are entrusted us with is that we must love Him and obey him and make others to do the same. This service that we do, should not be carried out in our own strength but out of his grace he fits us for our task, if we place our lives in his hands.

27. IV WED of Dedication of the Church

Mk. 12: 18-27: The Sadducees reduces Jesus’ theory of individual resurrection by presenting a story of a bride with 7 brothers. Jesus’ response is that the mystery of eternal life is not a projection of this life. We can only approach the mysteries of our faith through metaphors, symbols and images. Such images should not be forced to carry a load for which they were not built. But rather these must be pointers which stretch our minds beyond the present into the mystery of God. We should have faith to go beyond these images to which the Sadducees never reached.

26. IV TUE of Dedication of the Church

Mk. 5: 25-34: The woman who is healed from her hemorrhage is an example of popular religiosity. Though ill instructed many simple pious people manifest strong religious sense by honouring saints and so on. It may be naïve, expecting great results from touching images of saints and other religious objects in this present case, Christ’s garments. But like Jesus, we should respect the religious expressions of these people, while at the same time try to help them discover deeper dimensions of their faith.

25. IV MON of Dedication of the Church

Mt. 6: 19-21: Although both God and wealth play a vital role in our lives, one of them will be the lens through which we view the world. If wealth is the center of our lives then religion become a subtle way of insuring the survival of what we have stored. If God is at our center, then the things we own enhance the way we give glory to God. Whichever serves as our lens, will colour our view of the rest of the world.