28. II SAT of Lent

Mt. 11: 16-19: We are asked not to judge people and institutions by our own prejudices’ and perversities. If we are to thank them for bringing people nearer to God, by their methods that often may not fit into ours, we have to do so as a Christian, who must be always crystal-clear in judgments.  

27. II FRI of Lent

Mk. 11: 27-33: The counter question about John the Baptist by Jesus made the religious authorities (who cooked up charges of blasphemy against Jesus) got themselves trapped. The ingenuity and scheming of the human agents of the anti-kingdom serve only to highlight the divine origin of Jesus and his authority. The programme of his kingdom cannot be defeated.

26. II THU of Lent

Mt. 5: 33-37: Jesus condemns the use of oaths and religious language for self-centered, manipulative and evasive purposes which are hollow and empty in its results. If we are to become a new creation, the change envisaged will reflect in our conversations, cloth, home and use of our leisure times.

25. II WED of Lent

Mt. 9: 1-8: V.8 indicates the sacrament of reconciliation in which people “praised God for giving such power to men” It was for this reason that Jesus is accused (Mt. 26:65) The teachers of the law saw in Jesus as an ordinary man (“This man is blaspheming”) The crowd saw in this man God Himself. “The priest is the sign and the instrument of God’s merciful love for the sinner” (v.6 & Jn 5:27 & ccc 1465).

24. II TUE of Lent

     Mt. 7: 7-12: God answers our prayers in His way, in His wisdom and in love. We are asked to bring to God an undiscouraged life, of prayer which often tests the rightness of the things we pray for and our sincerity for asking them. In that way we learn to treat others with love and concern for them.

23. II MON of Lent

Mk. 7: 14-23: Cleanness and uncleanness are affairs of the soul and not of the body. If a person has hate in his heart, a thousand papal blessings will be powerless to help him. If a person is filled with the loves of Jesus, a million curses and spells will be harmless. Nothing can separate us from the love of the Lord. 

22. II SUN of Lent

Mt. 7: 21-27: Jesus points out that a prophet’s spiritual pyrotechnics (exorcisms, miracles, charismatic experiences) do not by themselves guarantee the fullness of spiritual life and it comes exclusively from the personal union with God. It comes from the solid base of internal transformation in how we think and act, guided by his teaching. 

21. I SAT of Lent

Mt. 6: 9-15: The Lord’s Prayer offers us as a model prayer as what a prayer should be like. It spans the whole human existence. It points to the right priorities that we orient first to God and then teaches us to pray for all our needs – economic (bread), social (forgiveness) and religious (fidelity to God).

20. I FRI of Lent

Mt. 7: 1-6: We are forbidden to condemn people because good or evil is a matter not of external behavior but of the intention of the heart which only God can see (Mt. 5: 21-48) and since all of us are sinners, none of us has the right to condemn, for it makes us unease with ourselves. We discuss the teachings of Jesus among those who can understand the subtlety of what is being expressed.

19. I THU of Lent

Mt. 6: 25-34: A Christian is the one who trust in God and setting all his hearts on the kingdom of God and His justice. If we truly commit ourselves to God’s cause, all the rest that we need for our happiness will be given to us.

18. I WED of Lent

Mt. 6: 5-8: Prayer is not merely reciting formulas but entering into a relationship with God. It is not the quantity of words we utter but the attitude of faith and love we develop. To pray is not to talk a lot, but to surrender our lives into God’s loving hands. 

17. I TUE of Lent

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. 

16. I MON of Lent- Day of Fasting

Mt. 5: 17-26: Jesus is proposing a new spirituality of love which fulfils the teachings of the Old Testament and the prophets. His teachings never intend to reform or improve but offer us a new way of life which will do all that the law intends to do in a far superior way. Love for Jesus has the absolute value to which all else is subordinate.

15. I SUN of Lent

Mt. 4: 1-11: Filled and guided by the spirit is what one feels in prayer life. Not by giving bread but by giving the ‘word’ that he is going to prove himself to be the Son of God. Not by testing God but by trusting in God that one must reach God. To obey God till death and to give himself as expiation for sin is his way – the cross. Divine Sonship is not for compromising to the world but is a way of service to save the world.

14. V SAT of Epiphany

Mt. 23: 1-12: The message of Jesus’ word is not to be followed in life with fanfare. It is not the title or position that marks out the true believers and followers of Jesus. It is the attitude of heart that makes us children of God in the deepest and most enduring sense. What we should have is to have openness to God’s word which make truly brothers and sisters in the world.

13.V FRI of Epiphany- Commemoration of the Dead

Mt. 25: 31-40: In this last judgment scene Jesus lays down the universal ethical norms. By doing these norms in life one walks to the read of salvation. The parable that follows speaks clearly about this. How far one is useful for the needy is the question; one must ask oneself in life.  

12. V THU of Epiphany

Lk 13: 10-17: Sin is a factor that pervades a person’s entire being, just as the Holy Spirit pervades the entire personality. To live as a son or daughter of God is to live out the consequences of that Spirit inside us. It takes a great deal of spiritual discipline to unlock that spirit we all have received. We must allow to spill ot that spirit into our life and surrender to Him. 

11. V WED of Epiphany- Our Lady of Lourdes

Jn. 8: 31-38: Whoever lives according to the Word of God lives in truth. The truth will set them free from evil and sin. This freedom is possible only in the faith in the Son, Jesus Christ, who lives with the Father in heaven. Jesus liberates the one who believes in him from evil and sin and they are called children of God.

10. V TUE of Epiphany

Jn. 9: 35-39: The Jews cast the blind man (who now got sight from Jesus) out of the temple. But the Lord of the temple finds him. Jesus is always true to the one who is true to him. Loyalty to Jesus always brings revelation. Jesus is revealed to this man. Such a one is not far away from the kingdom of God.

9. V MON of Epiphany

Jn 5: 41-47: Though the Jews studied the law and ready to die in faithfulness to Yahweh, Jesus says they don’t have the love of God in them? They are ready to accept anyone else in another name and are looking to look good in the eyes of one another, but they are not seeking the praise of God. However Jesus is not their accuser but Moses, their Law giver.

8. V SUN of Epiphany

Jn. 3: 14-21: Jesus reveals what will happen to him referring Numbers 21 from the Old Testament. Incarnation and crucifixion are God’s plan to save humanity and leads them in the way to eternal life.

7. IV SAT of Epiphany

Lk 11: 14-23: The cosmic dimension of that ultimate battle took local form in the ministry of Jesus. Jesus is accused of destroying the kingdom of God! So he experiences another form of poverty – misunderstanding, misinterpretation and his words or intentions distorted. In this controversy Jesus stresses the importance of unity. Division leads to failure and destruction. So Jesus, who establishes unity and destroy the failure of everyone who has faith in Him. 

6. IV FRI of Epiphany- Greek Fathers

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. 

5. IV THU of Epiphany

Mk. 9: 33-37: A disciple is to serve the powerless and the needy, just like a ‘child’ who is not acknowledged or had no rights at that times. The ‘children’ are to be welcomed who are in need and helpless. By this one will ultimately welcomes God in his or her life.

4. IV WED of Epiphany- St. John Britto

Mt. 12: 15b-21:       By quoting Isaiah 42: 1-4 Mathew pictures Jesus as the servant of God, who filled with holy spirit, worked silently with the oppressed, weak, wounded and the poor who believed in Jesus. Thereby he fulfilled the law. The gentiles believed in Him while the Jews rejected Him. This is a prophecy of Hope.

3. IV TUE of Epiphany

Mk. 3: 7-12: Mark mention the seven geographical areas from which crowds came and followed Jesus. The universal aspect of Jesus’ mission is indicated. From the backdrop of these crowds Jesus calls the 12 disciples again Jesus’ ministry is universal in nature. The crowds are poor and from every walk of life and Jesus heal them from their maladies – now the same mission followed by the universal church.

2. IV MON of Epiphany- The presentation of our Lord in the temple

Lk. 2: 22-38: Simeon foretells the rejection of Jesus by his own people. So salvation is extended to all in the world. St.  Luke ascribes new motifs concerning new identity and mission of Jesus.

1. IV SUN of Epiphany

Jn 2: 1-11: Jesus manifests himself as the savior by changing water into wine. Those that live for their earthly desires have no real interest in heavenly matters. They live for their short bouts of laughter not realizing they will end in an eternal sigh. Only Jesus can bring a change in life to have real interest in heavenly matters.