31. Mt. 2: 1-12

Mt. 2: 1-12: Anyone who realizes the love of God in Jesus, he, too should be lost in wonder, love and praise as those magi had been before Jesus. The gifts they presented at the cradle of Jesus, foretold that he was to be the true king, the perfect high priest and in the end the supreme savior of men. 

30. Lk 1: 39-45

 Lk 1: 39-45: Mary is being greeted by Elizabeth. She is being granted the blessedness of being the Mother of God. To be chosen by God is often means a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. God chooses a man in order to use him or her for a task that will take all the head, heart and hands can bring to it. Both the task and joy involved make one chosen by God, ‘blessed’ as acknowledged by Elizabeth.  

29. Mt. 9: 27-31

Mt. 9: 27-31: Against a few people who dislike their weakness and if they are honest would have so say that they do not wish to lose their sins. So Jesus had first of all to be sure that these men sincerely and earnestly desired the healing he could give. So Jesus compelled these people to see him alone. No medicine will do a man any good if he thinks he might as well be drinking water. The way to miracle is to place one’s life in the hands of Jesus Christ and say” I know that you can make me what I ought to be”.

28. Mt. 2: 13-18

Mt. 2: 13-18: As children killed at the time of the birth of Moses, St. Mathew portrays that Jesus is the new Moses who came to save people. In the wholly undeserved death, the children stand for the many innocent victims perishing all over the world through malnutrition or violence by an evil system run by people like Herod, who blindly pursue profit and power.

27. Jn. 21: 20-24

Jn. 21: 20-24: St. John the beloved disciple enjoys a more fundamental mission. His mission is to remain in the love towards his master and bear witness to the revelation of Jesus, linking the community to the Word. Like John, we are advised to bear witness to the infinite and unfathomable riches of Jesus.

26. Jn. 13: 31b-35

Jn. 13: 31b-35: The glory of Jesus has come. That glory is the cross. In Jesus God has been glorified and in Jesus God glorifies Himself and God will glorify Jesus. Jesus loved his disciples selflessly, sacrificially, understandingly and forgivingly. All enduring love must be built on forgiveness.

20. Lk 16: 10-13

Lk 16: 10-13: Each of us has a god we serve. The question centers upon which will attract our attention or devotion. Jesus reminds us that the spiritual bonds of human friendship are more important than the simple accumulation of things. We should use our time and opportunities to widen our friendships. This is more so with God. The more we spend time and energy in our life with God, the more we enhance our relationship with God.

19. Mt. 3: 1-6

Mt. 3: 1-6: People recognized John as a prophet after long years of absence of such prophets in Israel. He was a light to light up evil thing, a voice to summon men to righteousness, a signpost to point men to God.

18. Jn. 14: 1-6

Jn. 14: 1-6: If we have true faith in God the Father and in Jesus Christ we will be liberated from all our sufferings. The ‘rooms’ show the intimate communion, sharing the very life of God, reaches it’s culmination in the life with God after our death. It starts with the present life in which Jesus is the Way, the truth and the life.

17. Lk 1: 57-66

Lk 1: 57-66: John the Baptist is named. The name john indicates ‘God’s gift’ or God is gracious. They put that name as ordered by God and the same name is the parent’s gratitude to God. Every child is a bundle of possibilities. It is upon the parents and teachers as to how these possibilities will or will not be realized. Every child is a gift and for which to thank God and is one of the life’s supreme responsibilities.

16. Lk. 11: 33-36

Lk. 11: 33-36: Luke refers to the light of Christian mission as a beacon for new converts. He exhorts the Christians to keep their inner eye fixed steadfastly on Jesus so that his light may be refracted through them.

15. Lk 1: 46-56

Lk 1: 46-56: The magnificat has been a great hymn of the church. Mary sings of a moral revolution Christianity is the death of pride when a man set his life beside of Christ. It demolishes the castle of pride. It puts an end to the world’s labels and prestige. The social grades are not there in Christianity. Mary thus sings of social justice in which no man dares to have too much while others have too little. Every man gets only to give away.

14. Jn. 1: 14-18

Jn. 1: 14-18: Jesus whom the disciple and apostles had personal experiences is truly the word became (flesh) incarnate. In Jesus there is the fullness of God’s presence and loving kindness. Responding to that fullness, we receive from Jesus the same loving kindness which is grace in abundance, without any measure. 

14. Lk 1: 39-45

Lk 1: 39-45: Mary is being greeted by Elizabeth. She is being granted the blessedness of being the Mother of God. To be chosen by God is often means a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. God chooses a man in order to use him or her for a task that will take all the head, heart and hands can bring to it. Both the task and joy involved make one chosen by God, ‘blessed’ as acknowledged by Elizabeth.

13. Lk. 1: 34-38

Lk. 1: 34-38: By accepting God’s plan to become the mother of God, Mary expresses her faith and her surrender to God. In her we find the Christian attitude of faith, hope and charity. God achieves at this moment of transforming humankind to His image.

12. Lk. 10: 21-24

Lk. 10: 21-24: The simple mind could receive what learned minds cannot take in. We should not be interested in knowing about Christ but must be interested in knowing Christ. To know this, we need not require earthly wisdom but the heavenly grace. In this prayer we find Jesus announces this great and unique relationship between Jesus and God. Jesus tells us that he is the consummation of all history.

11. Jn 14: 11-14

Jn 14: 11-14: Jesus announces that the disciples would be doing everything Jesus has done for the people and that they, will be doing even greater things. In fact the disciple did so in the early days of the church and later with the new techniques. Jesus again announces that God the Father will grant everything they ask in the name of Jesus.

10. Lk 1: 26-38

Lk 1: 26-38: Mary was in two extreme situations to accept God’s will or to embrace material well being. By embracing the will of God, she for saw many trouble, risk involved. By accepting God’s will she gives the message to every Christian that one should always accept God’s will above all other petty wishes, fancies in life. It is way to freedom and truth – a way to the supreme power of God.

9. Lk 9: 57-62

Lk 9: 57-62: A disciple is a full timer. We should love Jesus more than we do our poverty (v.58) and we should follow him without delay (v.60). The intensity of our discipleship is measured as well by the extent to which we let our faith seep out into the world of politics, work and human relations. The depth of our commitment to Jesus is endowed by whether we let our discipleship show in the way we vote, spend, recreate and deal with others. The life of the Holy Spirit in us is not a closed circuit. We are called to be mature channels for the entry of God’s love and spirit into our world.

8. Lk. 1: 46-55

Lk. 1: 46-55: The magnificat of Mary speaks of a threefold revolutions both within us and in the world. ‘He scatters the proud in the plans of their hearts’, ‘he casts down the mighty and exalts the humble’ and ‘he has filled those who are hungry and those who are rich he has sent away empty’. It all started with the Immaculate Conception.

7. Mt. 24: 45-51

Mt. 24: 45-51: The spirit which leads to disaster is the spirit which says that there is plenty of time. It is the comfortable delusion of the servant when he thinks that he will have plenty of time to put things to rights before his master returns. Rejection to the kingdom is based on his failure in duty and reward depends upon the fidelity. So Jesus wants us to be employed and be faithful in doing our duty.

6. Jn. 8: 26-30

1   Jn. 8: 26-30: The world is at its fault. It never recognizes Jesus Christ as the son of God. Obedience to his perfect wisdom and acceptance of him as the savior and Lord can cure the individual as well as the world. All know this and haunts their mind. The cure lies before us. It is our responsibility to accept Jesus or reject him. 

5. Lk. 1: 18-20

Lk. 1: 18-20: Zachariah accepted his personal tragedy, so vehemently to his heart that he blocked all his faculties to believe God’s message.  Though he wanted it dearly, it came suddenly, strongly beyond his comprehension that he was not able to break open from the cocoon of his personal tragedy. 

4. Lk. 9: 37-43a

Lk. 9: 37-43a: Coming back to the valley from the mountain experience of transfiguration everything down seems to be out of control and people are shattered. This is visible from the predicament of the father of the unclean spirited boy. When we see our life out of control, it is the master of life Jesus himself that we can approach to. He will bring everything under control. 

3. Lk. 1: 5-25

Lk. 1: 5-25: In this remote corner of the world the Good News begins with an elderly childless couple. Nothing is impossible for God. But we must believe in His promises. John the Baptist whose birth is here announced prepare the people that he will operate with the spirit of Elijah to obtain reconciliation for all, through justice and faithfulness to God’s law. 

3. Mt 5: 1-12

Mt 5: 1-12: The blessing is related to the people or right attitudes, namely people who have dependence on God, longing for justice, sincerity, mercy and peacableness like the Greek Fathers whose feast we celebrate today. The happiness promised to them is the total liberation of humankind. Though this begins here and now, will reach its fullness in the hereafter. 

30. Mt. 4: 18-22

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. Mk. 12: 18-27.

Mk. 12: 18-27: The Sadducees are silenced by Jesus by proposing to have faith in the power of God by highlighting their shallow understanding of their scripture. God is powerful to overcome death and give life – the resurrected life will enjoy uninterrupted communion with God. Our hope in resurrected life is based on the character of the ever-living God (v. 26 & 27).

28. Mk 5: 25-34

Mk 5: 25-34: Jesus manifests his lordship over life and death, which no doubt is another sign of his kingdom. A missionary is asked to support life enhancing programmes of health, environment, housing, food production, clean water and so on. The Jews regarded this woman ‘unclean’ but for Jesus, she is the owner of immense faith and dares to defy all Jewish regulations.

27. Mt. 6: 19-21

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 centre 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.

26. Mt. 22: 41-46

Mt. 22: 41-46: Jesus here makes his greatest claims. In him there came, not the earthly conqueror like that of David, but the son of God who would demonstrate the love of God upon his cross. The disciples felt a shiver in the presence of the eternal mystery. They had the feeling that they had heard the voice of God, and for a moment, in this man, Jesus, they glimpsed God’s very face.

25. Lk. 9: 10-17

Lk. 9: 10-17: The multiplication of the loaves of bread foreshadows the Eucharist. If Jesus could multiply the bread for the poor people, then he could feed and nourishes the faithful with his own life. This is the way Jesus answers to the question of Herod ‘who is this man?’

24. Jn. 18: 28-37

Jn. 18: 28-37: The trail of Jesus by Pilate is central in the Gospel of John. The account moves every man to decide what we will do with Jesus-accept him or reject him. No one can compromise with Jesus; no man can serve two masters. We are either for Jesus or against him. We are expected to come out of the captivity of human circumstances to follow Jesus. Pilate was a captive of his office.

23. Mt. 22: 1-14

Mt. 22: 1-14: The only table of Christ that Christians usually know is the Eucharist. Our meeting together at Mass has to remind us that God calls us to prepare in our daily lives, for the banquet reserved by him for all humankind. Ours is the task of uniting and reconciling all people. We are also reminded that as Christians we are to wear the garment – a life of justice, honesty and trustworthiness!

22. Mt 16: 21-28

Mt 16: 21-28: V.26 resounds all over the world – many people of different cultures changed, converted by hearing this verse. We all can lose ourselves in events. We all play a variety of roles with family, friends and co-workers. By entering on Christ we can allow Jesus to become our central point of balance in this rapidly changing world. The God of the galaxies chose us to a special covenant so that His Eternity can by our own.

21. Lk 8: 1-3

Lk 8: 1-3: Women could not become disciples of a rabbi and so also of Jesus. But several women took Jesus’ words and attitude as a call to freedom. They joined Jesus’ followers and became witness and supporters of his ministry. Later they would be honoured witnesses of his death and resurrection. Here we have a fundamental testimony to the freedom which the Gospel brings to people in different cultures.

20. Lk 11: 1-4

Lk 11: 1-4: The disciples ask Jesus as to how to ask things of God. He then teaches them the prayer of ‘Our Father’. It is a prayer by which we acknowledge and submit to God’s sovereignty and providence. Then only we place our particular need within that great design. What we often do is that we reverse that order by presenting our needs in that context of divine providence. The things in our life that we cannot control we submit to the providence of God in whom we should have faith and confidence.

19. Jn 2: 13-22

Jn 2: 13-22: Cleansing of the temple by Jesus happened because of God’s house being desecrated. Together with this action Jesus made the people think that the whole paraphernalia of animal sacrifice was completely irrelevant. To explain further Jesus indicates of a new temple- his own sacrifice-which would come what this present temple at Jerusalem would have been. In the street, in the home, at business, on the hills in the church we have our inner temple, the presence of the RISEN CHRIST for ever with s throughout the whole world.

18. Lk 22: 24-30

Lk 22: 24-30: What the world needs is service and it is the foundation of the church as well. The one who serves more or ready to serve longer time qualitatively risk high in esteem and in position. Authority is give to serve rather than for authority’s sake. Jesus finished his warning by promising his disciples that those who had stood by him through thick and thin would in the end reign with him.

17. Jn 14: 1-7

Jn 14: 1-7: There is only one way to God. ‘No one comes to the Father except through me’ (v.6) in him we see what God is like. He leads to this ONE without fear and shame. He speaks this to the disciples honestly and it is for this he came to this world i.e. ‘to prepare a place for us’ (v.2b) in him we end our journey. Heaven is where Jesus is. “Where I am, there you will also be” (v.3)

16. Lk 10: 8-16

Lk 10: 8-16: To reject God’s word invites condemnation. There is a sense in which every promise of God that a man has ever heard can become his condemnation. If he receives these promises they are his greatest glory but each one that he has rejected will someday be a witness against him.

15. Mk. 10: 28-30

Mk. 10: 28-30: Correct ritual alone or good intentions alone are incomplete. Both must be validated by how we live our life. It may be to simplify our life style or to engage in a more active prayer life or to expand ourselves in a wider service to an individual in need. In this way Jesus promises a qualitatively greater reward not only in this life but in the next as well.

14. Jn. 6: 47-53

Jn. 6: 47-53: Jesus is the bread of life. He is essential for life. So the refusal of his invitation would mean missing of life and death. The fathers who died in the wilderness not only missed the Promised Land but also missed the life to come. Jesus gives life to those who believe in him.

13. Mt. 19: 16-22

Mt. 19: 16-22: The rich young man is advised to go beyond the commandments. Jesus tells him to break with the crowd, to leave all he has and to follow. The young man could not do this. Our relationship with Jesus is any other relationship-the more time we spend the more our conversation with him become intimate, rewarding and profound. To such he is ready to do much more unlike the person who meets him once or twice and with him our conversation would be more formal and strained. We are invited to level of spiritual life as that of the former type i.e. to go beyond the commandments.

12. Mt. 12: 1-13

Mt. 12: 1-13: Jesus sets priority to human needs. All other needs of worship, ritualistic life and liturgy and so on are important but human needs come prior to them all. He defends the disciples than he defends himself. Christian freedom is established from the enslavement of oneself from the tyrannical regulations.

11. Lk 5: 1-11

Lk 5: 1-11: The call of Simon to be a fisher of men and women remind us that the church was created by Jesus to help us attain perfect wisdom and spiritual insight. The teaching of the church is very pivotal. It is through the documents and papal teachings that the successors of St. Peter, the Pope teaching us. The all enable us not to be content with spiritual mediocrity but to push out into deeper waters.

10. Lk. 19: 1-10

Lk. 19: 1-10: Zacheus was not an evil man but defrauded many as a tax collector of Jerico. His meeting with Jesus changed his heart and he willingly compensates the damages done and gave half of his profits to the poor. Salvation comes to us with a change of heart for Jesus

9. Mt. 9: 35-38

Mt. 9: 35-38: Having a feeling of compassion for the ‘sheep who have no shepherd Jesus struggles through with his healing and teaching ministries in ‘towns, villages, and in their synagogues’. Such struggles to find God in lives can be termed as ‘dark night of the soul’ and ‘spiritual aridity’. If we pursue such times to their conclusion, we can emerge from them with deeper and cleaner insight. What we learn through our struggles with darkness can help others to see light. It can be our way of bringing in the harvest. 

8. Lk. 8: 26-39

Lk. 8: 26-39: A man possessed with a legion (6000) of demons was cured by Jesus. The demon enjoyed a routine way of life in the man. Jesus comes there to disturb that routine. Life went peacefully on till there arrived this disturbing Jesus. They complained to Jesus; they hated him. More people hate Jesus because he disturbs them of their wrong doings. They don’t accept Jesus by saying “Go away and let us be in peace.” Those who come out from their routine life, serve the church but Jesus says they must start from their home. 

7. Lk. 21: 1-4

Lk. 21: 1-4: The poor widow who put a few pennies to the treasury is a symbol of the poor and dispossessed. The few pennies she contributed meant a great deal to her. It came from her heart and signified sincerity and authority. Jesus comments really make us to know that traditions live through people and not through books. 

6. Lk. 20: 1-8

Lk. 20: 1-8: The authority of Jesus is questioned. The emissaries of the Pharisees didn’t want to face the truth which would confront them with a sore and to refuse to face it makes them even more a difficult situation. By their own refusal to answer the question which Jesus asked them about John the Baptist, made them frustrated and discredited in the crowd.

5. Mt. 16: 13-19

Mt. 16: 13-19: The foundation of the church is faith in Jesus, the Christ and Son of God. The above text points to the primacy of Peter among all the apostles. The church always needs a visible head. This we believe is the successor of Peter, the Pope.

4. Mt. 5: 38-42

Mt. 5: 38-42: Against the backdrop of the Old Testament saying (Leviticus 24:19: Exodus 21:22 ‘tooth for tooth’), Jesus gives the new rule not simply to avoid retaliation but to forgive. Forgiveness is the only way to interrupt the endless and destructive recycling of hatred and revenge.

2. Jn. 11: 17-27

Jn. 11: 17-27: When one believes in Jesus, he or she is freed from the fear of godless life; from the frustration of sin-ridden life; from the futility of Christless life. Life is raised from sin’s death and becomes so rich that it cannot die but must find in death only the transition to a higher life.

1. Mt 5: 1-12

Mt 5: 1-12: The blessing is related to the people or right attitudes, namely people who have dependence on God, longing for justice, sincerity, mercy and peacableness like the Greek Fathers whose feast we celebrate today. The happiness promised to them is the total liberation of humankind. Though this begins here and now, will reach its fullness in the hereafter.

28. Jn 15: 18-25

Jn 15: 18-25: If love is the essential nature of the disciple of Christ, hatred is of the world and it’s ruler the Satan. When a person begins to live a more responsible and committed life he or she meets with opposition and hatred from the other. This is the beginning of persecution of the Christians or Christ’s followers who is committed to Christ and his word. Jesus makes his disciples of this incoming persecution and must be prepared to suffer like that he suffered in this Gospel passage. 

27. Mt. 16: 5-12

Mt. 16: 5-12: The Pharisees saw religion as a set of laws and commandments, outward rituals and purity. The Sadducees involved in politics. So Jesus says not to identify the kingdom with outward goods and actions but what matters really is the state of man’s heart. So one should not forget his or her inner state of the heart.

26. Lk. 9: 46-48

Lk. 9: 46-48: Children were least important members of society. Jesus indicates that whoever is prepared to spend his or her life in serving and helping people who do not matter much in the eyes of the world is serving Him and the Father in heaven. They are the people of God who works for unity.

25. Mt 25: 14-30

Mt 25: 14-30: How we live in this world, as well as how we pray in the church, can be apostolic and powerfully evangelistic. This parable of the talents, both used and unused speaks on several levels to us on our life. It can be applied spiritual, intellectual and material opportunities. Gifts unused remain unused and for every gift we received we are responsible. Through the members of the church enormous abundance of gifts for the spread of the Gospel are received. Often a fearful attitude that seeks only to preserve the past and not to launch out into the future has hindered the growth of the Gospel.

24. Jn 11: 1-16

Jn 11: 1-16: Death is an inescapable reality. Consciously or unconsciously we confront death everyday: every minute we die a little – we realize that we are limited. In today’s Gospel Jesus is seen preparing the disciple to that realization so that they may believe in the resurrection and with him of all who believe in him may be resurrected. Jesus is the light and whoever walks with him will not ‘stumble’ to death but will be always be in the light and in the life eternal. 

23. Mt 24: 3-14

Mt 24: 3-14: In this last discourse on the eschatological times, Jesus refers two events that speaks all about the destruction of Jerusalem. Jesus concludes the end of the world also together with. Jesus never entertains the curiosity of the disciples, but warns them that the end of the world cannot be calculated. He instills in them to have a heart that is prepared to face the events at any time. 

22. Mt 8: 23-34

Mt 8: 23-34: The presence of Jesus is power. The disciples realized it only in the dire need to calm the storm. But the people of the town failed to convert the power of the presence of Jesus into faith due to fear. Jesus is with us in the very middle of the storm. In the complexity of our lives, we seldom have the date we would like to make a decision. The best way for us is to consult, pray, decide and then go forward. Having done our best, we can be assured that Jesus remains with us in whatever follows. Jesus gives us strength to survive the storm of our life. 

21. Lk. 9: 18-20

Lk. 9: 18-20: Jesus wanted to know whether the disciples understood what he said and done. So he asks ‘who do they say I am’? Peter responds that he is the fulfillment of Old Testament hopes and that he is the MESSIAH. In order for the kingdom to become public, we must first experience its glory within our lives. 

20. Lk. 16: 1-8

Lk. 16: 1-8: The parable is not about the dishonesty of the steward but about the genius with which he plan for his own future. Jesus remarks that we should be enterprising to exploit spiritual opportunities for our own life. We have to learn to deal creatively and maturely with the Holy Spirit that we have received.

19. Mt 25: 1-13

Mt 25: 1-13: The parable of the ten virgins –five wise and five foolish teaches us that we Christians are not expected to behave like idle spectators, just waiting for the coming of the Lord; we have to work for it; we have to persevere and persist. We have at all times to be always ready, living the word of God, bearing the torch of Christ. 

18. Lk 10: 1-9

Lk 10: 1-9: The sending out of the 72 brings out two important messages for the preachers. The urgency of preaching the Gospel is seen in v.4. He is required to have haste and single-mindedness: they should not waste time on social pastimes (v.4) be fastidious about food out shelter (v.8) they must concentrate on healing and blessing (v.9). Jesus also warns the 72 in v.3 that they will have to face hostility and persecutions if they really involved in the ministry. 

17. Lk 4: 38-44

Lk 4: 38-44: Jesus is ready to serve and heal people always. This made the people to realize that the favours they received were to serve further others in return. So is Peter’s mother-in-law who after being cured by Jesus ‘gets up and serves them’. Jesus attends the needs of men because first he must become companied with God. So it was his habit to rise up ‘early in the morning and went out to be alone’. Prayer is great but in the end human need is greater.

16. Jn 10: 1-15

Jn 10: 1-15: Jesus warns the disciples of ‘false shepherds’ who pretend to guide others without being mandated for it. Jesus is the ‘good shepherd’ who leads them out to green pastures, to happiness, to genuine blooming out, to real nourishments ‘who calls his own sheep’ by name, who fights against ‘anonymity’. Jesus is the one who opens for mankind a new ‘vital space’. Without him one is closed within oneself without ideology, theory, religion which delivers one from fatality.

15. Lk 8: 41b-56

Lk 8: 41b-56: We find again a man Jairus by name who could pocket his pride within himself to present his need and request for help from Jesus. We also find a woman who dares to touch Jesus’ cloak in her dire need. Both people showed immense faith in Jesus. The woman is not the last in the crowd to receive a favour from Jesus. Jesus treats her as if she is the only one in the crowd. So God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love.

14. Jn 4: 46-54

Jn 4: 46-54: Here is a courtier who came to a carpenter in Cana from Capernaum which is 20 miles away. It gives the message that if we want the help which Christ give, we must be can humble enough to swallow our pride and not to care what others may say. In the courtier we find the one who refuse to be discouraged at Jesus’ remarks and Jesus makes sure that he has the faith and he proves that he has the faith needed for the request to be granted.

13. Lk. 20: 27-40

Lk. 20: 27-40: Jesus confronts the question of resurrection. It is God’s gift to ‘those who are considered worthy’ to enter into the other world. The body is the physical expression of the soul. Salvation does not consists in the liberation of the soul from the body, but in the liberation of the whole human person (body and soul) which is achieved through resurrection.

12. Lk 9: 28-36

Lk 9: 28-36: It was as if the princes of Israel’s (Moses and Elijah) life and thought and religion approve to go ahead of the salvific act during the transfiguration of Jesus. The passage comes with a vivid message in the verse ‘when they were fully awake they saw his glory’. In life we miss so much because of our minds sleeping because of our prejudices to new ideas, because off our mental lethargy for strenuous thought with our unexamined life and because of our love for ease that shut our minds against any disturbing thought. So transfiguration of our Lord teaches to be awake to grasp the meaning and significance of things around us and the events in our life

11. Lk. 11: 24-26

Lk. 11: 24-26: The purity of the external dimension without the purity of the spiritual power always invites the evil and demons. No one can take away the Holy Spirit away from us. We are the only ones who can cut off His influences.

8. Mt. 20: 1-16

Mt. 20: 1-16: The late workers were paid as much as the early workers here in this passage. The message of the parable is to show that God rewards not according to the time of work but according to one’s entry to God’s call. Applying to ourselves it means that God does not compare us with known or popular saints. The Lord looks at what we have done with what we have. He examines how we have used the opportunities and skills we have been given. We fashion our own spiritual life or death.

7. Lk. 10: 17-21

Lk. 10: 17-21: The disciples are seen overjoyed about the subjecting of the demons in the name of Jesus. Jesus is more powerful than Satan they understood. This power of casting away of demons are received by those who try to live and preach the Gospel with sincerity. By this power, they can set an individual free to become the son and daughter of God by which he or she was destined to be at birth it is by this way one restore the original order of creation.

6. Lk. 21: 7-19

Lk. 21: 7-19: Jesus warns about the imposters and persecutions of many ways that the church will have to face. The persecution in our country takes the form of a subtle nature. We are subjected to a barrage of stereotyping through the media, attacks upon the institutions of the church-career and professional discrimination against Catholics. The old colosseum of persecution has now become the board offices, universities, television studios, classrooms, government offices and legislatures and so on.

5. Jn. 5: 39-47

Jn. 5: 39-47: ‘If another comes in his own name, him you will receive’ (v.43b) Jesus attacks the imposters who come and preached what people desire – victory and material prosperity but Jesus preaches the cross. The characteristic of these imposters are to offer the easy way while Jesus offers the hard way to God. The imposters perished while Christ lives on. This knowledge of the way to the kingdom of God is being given only to the Jews then. It become their privilege but failed to use them and thereby had become their condemnation. Responsibility is always the other side of privilege

4. Lk 9: 1-6

Lk 9: 1-6: Jesus pronounces the missionary command. It requires a life style which is a combination of strategy, customs and trust in God. It also requests us to have a trust deeper into the faith we have received and requires our experience as a community of Jesus. Our own realization of the gift of faith should enable us to contribute to the missionaries who are working elsewhere.

3. Mk. 9: 42-48

Mk. 9: 42-48: Jesus encourages us to get rid of ourselves of those things that encumber spiritual growth. The difficult but fulfilled venture we call discipleship is exemplified in the saints. If we are to know real life, real happiness and real peace the blocking elements must go. This may sound bleak and stern, but in reality it is only facing the facts of life.

2. Mk. 8: 31-38

Mk. 8: 31-38: Peter’s reaction to Jesus’ suffering and death seems to be the satanic opposition to God’s will. Peter represents the natural reaction of all people to suffering and failure. Jesus’ instruction stresses the role of service. Jesus goes on telling the disciples that the one who follows him also likewise suffer so that God can raise him up.

1. Mt. 15: 21-28

Mt. 15: 21-28: The Canaanite woman is ‘low caste’ in two ways. By birth she belongs to another religion. Being a woman she is oppressed under men. But she has the humility to accept what she is and thereby Jesus acknowledges her faith though she belongs to a different religion. So Jesus teaches us to appreciate the goodness in others whether they belong to different caste, religion or status.

30. Lk 11: 5-13

Lk 11: 5-13: Jesus deals with the subject of prayer as to how to ‘ask’ God. Our prayers are usually framed in terms of material needs. Whatever else it might entail, God’s answer is always in terms of our spiritual well-being which may not always be obvious to us.

28. Mt. 8: 1-4

Mt. 8: 1-4: Lepers (in those times all who had skin diseases were considered lepers) are outcaste in Jesus’ times.  By curing such a one is a conspicuous and significant feature of the ministry of Jesus. Jesus brings back the lost dignity of man into the warmth of human communion.

27. Mt. 21: 18-22

Mt. 21: 18-22: The fig tree symbolizes the people of Israel and grew with plenty of leaves. They were nurtured and cared by God. The fig tree in the passage was there tempting the passerby…. God’s care could be seen but no fruit found. The Israelites were proud of their origin like that of the fig tree but they were not doing acts of fruition as wanted by God. So Jesus by cursing the tree was using a prophetic method to the give the message to the disciples that likewise this fig tree…. Be cursed if not fruit were seen.

26. Mt. 10: 26-33

Mt. 10: 26-33:  If we lose God, we lose that which alone can give meaning and joy to our lives.  Jesus exhorts his disciples in his missionary preaching that what they hear from him must be preached without fear. Material loss is to be preferred to spiritual loss. Our relationship with God the Father is mediated through him. God’s attitude towards us will correspond to our attitude toward Jesus. Our acknowledgement or rejection of Jesus will be the norm for our own acknowledgment or rejection by God.

25. Jn 8: 39-47

Jn 8: 39-47: Jews are boasting of their descent from Abraham who proved himself to be a true believer of God, even though they are not imitating him in this belief.  Jesus, whose origin is from beyond human history, will enable us to enter into the world beyond, if only we believe in him by living according to his teaching.

24. Mt. 17: 14-21

Mt. 17: 14-21: Powerful and deep trust in God is never without public effect. The complete trust the epileptic’s father to cry out ‘Kyrie Eleison’ made Jesus to call for deep hearted faith. The faith that can move mountains is not an intellectual ascent but deep, secure and abiding Trust in God.

23. Lk 8: 16-21

Lk 8: 16-21: The tendency of some people is to hide things from themselves and people and however difficult may be from God. But they are an unhappy lot. The truth is that the happiest people are those who have nothing to hide. There must not be any hidden agenda or secret in the relationship with God. So when his mother and brothers wanted to see Jesus privately, Jesus says that those who hear the word of God and do it are those who make themselves their brother and mother! 

22. Mt. 15: 1-9

Mt. 15: 1-9: The tradition of the elders is not the law. Jesus respected and followed the law ie the ‘Thora’ but Jesus often spoke against some of its interpretation of the law by the Rubies. The disciples disobeyed an unimportant interpreted law but Jesus accused the Jews that they disobey the very important Law of Moses.

21. Mt. 9: 9-13

Mt. 9: 9-13: From Abraham to Pharisees we find the Jews making themselves righteous on their terms to approach God. Jesus in the New Testament corrects them by going directly to outcastes – tax collectors and prostitutes. Jesus is the new Israel who now reaches out all people to join them into a family linked not by genes but by faith in God. Thus they approach God to become righteous. So Jesus wants us to call God our Father so that we live a life in His terms.

20. Mt. 24: 29-36

Mt. 24: 29-36: These two possibilities of the second coming of Jesus contradict each other. The first speaks that we can know the signs of the second coming of Jesus just like we know the coming of summer by looking at the figs and its sprouting of new leaves. The second possibility is that no one knows – not even the angels, the son of God but it is known only by God the Father. A total submission by us is needed before the son of God comes.

19. Mt. 23: 29-36

Mt. 23: 29-36: The history of Jews was history of murder from Abel to Zacharias. It is a history of rejection and often the slaughter of the men of God. It makes us think when the history judges us, will its verdict be that we were the hinderers or the helpers of God! It is a question that every individual, nation must ask themselves.

18. Mt. 5: 43-48

Mt. 5: 43-48: The antitheses of the Sermon on the Mount reach their climax in the last one dealing with the scope of our love. “You must be perfect”(v.48) which means  that God loves his people with a mind of universality and single-mindedness. God loves all of us and each one of us totally.

17. Mt 4: 12-17

Mt 4: 12-17: Nothing happens to Jesus that is not provisioned by God. If Bethlehem is the place of his birth (2:6), Nazareth is the place of his upbringing (2:23) and Capernaum is his place of Mission (4:15f). The definitive salvation is announced by Jesus comes to us by a change of heart - a conversion to a new life-style based on God’s love and working of Spirit within us.

16. Lk. 15: 1-7

Lk. 15: 1-7: Jews regarded the tax collectors as sinners and thereby ‘untouchables’. Jesus does not write off them as outcasts but wants them to be saved. The God proclaimed by Jesus is not the ‘just judge’ of the pharasees who rewards and punishes strictly according to our action, but the loving father (Lk 15: 11-31) who forgives us even before we have sinned. We do not need to earn God’s forgiveness but need to turn to god and accept it.

15. Lk 4: 31-37

Lk 4: 31-37: The narrative brings out the power of Jesus’ word which is supported by the effectiveness of his actions. Through his preaching, exorcisms and healing, Jesus makes God’s kingdom real among the people. In this gospel passage a man possessed by an evil spirit shouts and acknowledge the power of Jesus.