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.