31. 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.

30. Lk. 12: 13-21

Lk. 12: 13-21: Professional success is what one gets rich to oneself while spiritual success as one grows rich in the sight of God. Wealth is not a thing that we can rely upon. As it disappears we become more relying upon God – that is what we mean ‘growing spiritually rich’. Trust in God orients one’s attitude toward the world. It determines whether we see the world as an essentially hostile place to live in for our spiritual life.

29. Jn. 4: 3-15

Jn. 4: 3-15:  Jesus, overcoming racial and social prejudices, begins to talk with a Samaritan woman with the intention of bringing her to salvation. Her immediate concern was to quench the thirst with water from the well of stagnant water. But Jesus promises her of the living water which is the word of God as wisdom and the Holy Spirit who give eternal life. Once one possesses it as a reality within one’s heart, all thirst for happiness will be satisfied.

28. Mk. 16: 14-20

Mk. 16: 14-20: The church has a healing task and a source of power. The church is never left alone to work. Always Christ works with it, in it and through it. The Lord of the church is still in the church and is still the lord of power. The Gospel of Mark ends here with this message of presence of this power of Christ.

27. Mt. 3: 7-12

Mt. 3: 7-12: The coming of Jesus Christ necessarily involves separation for Christ or against him according to the response one makes and this choice cannot be avoided. The one who is for Christ will be illuminated warmly, protected and purified as fire does to anyone – the one who is baptized with the holy spirit and fire.

26. Jn. 3: 31-36

Jn. 3: 31-36: What matters is a man’s reaction to Christ. If that reaction be love and longing, that man will know life. If it be indifference or hostility, that man will know death. It is not that God sends his wrath upon him; it is that he brings that wrath upon himself.

25. Lk. 24: 44-53

Lk. 24: 44-53: The disciples are instructed to continue his message and his presence. They are to proclaim his name everywhere and be witnesses of the Christ-event to others. Having said this in his last instruction, Jesus ascends to his Father. Luke’s gospel ends where it began in the house of God, where the disciples spend their times in prayer in order to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit.

24. Jn. 15: 11-17

Jn. 15: 11-17: Jesus says “You have not chosen me but I have chosen you” it was not we who chose God, but God who in his grace, approached us with a call and an offer made out of his love. We are chosen for joy, for love to his friends, to be his ambassadors (to send you out) to be his advertisements (to bear fruit) with a privileged member status of the family of God.

23. Mk. 13: 32-37

Mk. 13: 32-37: Jesus prophesies about his second coming. He exhorts us by saying that we must be like men who know that their master coming but do not know when. We live in the shadow of eternity. We must complete our work every day in a way fit for him to see and being at any moment ready to meet him face to face. All our life becomes then a preparation to meet the King.

22. Mt. 23: 23-28

Mt. 23: 23-28: Jesus criticizes the scribes and Pharisees for their lack of authenticity. There is no compassion and love in their hearts. From outside they seem to b e ‘honorable’ or show themselves to be so but inside of them are full of extortion and rapacity. So they are compared to a cup or plate that is washed from outside and white washed tombs.

21. Jn. 17: 20-26

Jn. 17: 20-26: Jesus prays for all his followers. He prays for unity among them as he experiences the unity with the Father. This unity that he has with the Father and reflected among his followers will always remain a ‘challenge’ to this divided world. This unity which is established on love and understanding will be the conscience of the world. This must be the thrust and endeavor of the church always.

20. Jn 15: 26-16: 4

Jn 15: 26-16: 4: The disciples are the witnesses of Jesus because they were with him. The witness can come only from personal experiences from long fellowship and intimacy with Christ. It also comes from personal conviction. A witness is not only someone who knows that something is true, but also he or she is prepared to say that he or she knows that it is true. Holy spirit directs the witnesses of Jesus.

19. Mt. 15: 10-20

Mt. 15: 10-20: No man can call himself good because he observes rules and regulations. He can call himself good only when his heart is pure. It will come to an end to all our pride and make us to say to God “God be merciful to me a sinner”.

18. Jn. 5: 24-29

Jn. 5: 24-29: The passage invites one to a close relationship with God in which fear is banished. One has to accept the way of life that Jesus offers us though difficult with sacrifices but bring peace and happiness. By accepting the Risen Lord means to welcome the guidance of the Holy Spirit which will strengthen each follower of Jesus. To be dead (spiritually dead) means to have stopped feeling and thinking that one may have eternal life.

17. Jn. 3: 1-8

Jn. 3: 1-8: To be born again is a change that comes when we love Jesus and allow him into our hearts. We are forgiven for our past and live armed with the Holy Spirit for the future. It is this process by which we accept the will of God and thereby become citizens of the kingdom of God and sons of God - a life in the eternal which is the very life of God.

16. 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.

15. Lk. 11: 29-32

Lk. 11: 29-32: Jesus speaks about the sign of Jonah at which the Ninevites repented. The word of god is given to all people in many ways. Some receive it more clearly than others. All receive it as the silent movements of their conscience. We are accountable to it in our responses towards it. God is not silent in any individual’s life. Very often, we fail to tune in.

14. Jn. 21: 1-14

Jn. 21: 1-14: The disciples toiled alone all throughout the night. At day break Jesus joins with them. They catch a great haul of fishes as Jesus directed them. Because Jesus is the vine and they are the branches and those who remain with the vine (Jesus) produce fruit.’ The  mission work also must be done with Jesus and they would find success on their way.

13. Mk. 6: 1-6

Mk. 6: 1-6: The people of Jesus’ home town were too familiar to Jesus. They regarded him to be a teacher or rabbi but not as Lord. The same can happen in our faith in Jesus. Jesus is very familiar to us may be physically or humanely but the divinity is often not seen in him. In such circumstances a crisis of faith happens but can generate a fresh start to our faith again.

12. Mk. 6: 35-44

Mk. 6: 35-44: All four gospels record this miracle of multiplication of bread. Just before this in the palace of king Herod was a dinner party given to the senior officials of the court on the birthday of King Herod (v. 21). But Jesus’ miracle as recorded here gave wellness for many ordinary people. The comparison is striking so as to make the reader think ‘who really is the king of the people!'

11. 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.

10. Jn. 5: 30-38

Jn. 5: 30-38: Jesus speaks of the 3 testimonies that are accredited to him – his works and miracles, John the Baptist’s testimony in pointing him out as the savior and the words of scripture that refer to him. To gain direction in life one has to be guided by the testimony of others- the words, attitude and personal qualities are those factors that motivate people. So we go to Jesus for guidance.

9. Mt. 19: 23-30

Mt. 19: 23-30: Riches are an obstacle to entering the kingdom, if it cannot be overcome by human power. The impossibility of the phrase ‘the eye of a needle’ indicates the renunciation of wealth and God helps one to share with the needy so that one becomes free from the world to enter the kingdom like that of the disciples, who left everything.

8. Lk. 20: 9-16

Lk. 20: 9-16: The people of God are that vineyard which God planted and nurtured. To look after them God sends time and again leaders (Isaiah 5: 1-7; Jeremiah 2: 21). Jesus is killed outside of the city of Jerusalem (here the vineyard) what the Jews rejected (Jesus) became the corner stone of the new church.

7. Jn. 16: 16-24

Jn. 16: 16-24: After living with Jesus for 3 years, the disciples were sad to hear about the death of Jesus. But their sadness will be changed into happiness when he is raised to life. This happiness will remain forever. So the sadness is only momentary while the happiness is everlasting. But how to celebrate this happiness? We sing in the prayer ‘onissadiraase’ in the holy Mass of this season that we should celebrate this like ‘the bride in her bridal attire and like the other who is happy when her children are with her’. It the ‘peseha’ feast is to have meaning in our life we must participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

6. Lk. 6: 46-49

Lk. 6: 46-49: Words without action are hypocrisy. Word of God, not followed through action it has no meaning. As the light of sun becomes perfect when it shines for me so is the word of God meaningful and perfect when it is practiced in life. Jesus tells this parable of the house built on the rock foundations.

5. Lk. 6: 6-11

Lk. 6: 6-11: A Jew regarded the Sabbath as a day of rest. It was the most sacred law for them. Jesus, with the God the Father’s vision, sees every law in the context of human need. Every law is meant for the betterment of man. This is what Jesus wants to affirms through the action and miracle healing in this passage.

4. Mk 4: 35-41

Mk 4: 35-41: God is at work of destroying evil of every kind, whether it is of nature. God has power over (in calming the storm in the sea) nature. Human heart has to open by itself i.e.  by faith to experience God’s power. This faith must be based on the authority of Jesus and on his God-given identity.

3. 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.

2. Mk. 4: 13-20

Mk. 4: 13-20:  It is the interpretation of Jesus for the parable of the sower that we see in this passage. If more importance is given to the sower and the seed in the parable of the sower, in the explanation of the parable Jesus give more importance to the soil were the seeds have fallen. There are many enemies to the seed- the Satan 4:15 suffering 4: 16-17 anxieties of the world 4: 18-19. The real disciple of the word gives hundred fold fruit 4: 20.

1. 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.