Mt. 25: 31-40: The purpose of the passage is to tell us what we must
do in order to be saved. The passage is as much a parable of separation (the
sheep and the goats) like the wheat and the weeds in 13: 24-30 or the net and
the fish in 13: 47-50. It is also a description of judgment.
Thursday, 20 September 2018
Wednesday, 19 September 2018
19. 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
Tuesday, 18 September 2018
18. 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
Monday, 17 September 2018
17. 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.
Sunday, 16 September 2018
16. 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
Saturday, 15 September 2018
15. 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
Friday, 14 September 2018
14. Lk. 24: 13-27
Lk. 24: 13-27: Every ‘breaking of the word’
leads one finally to the Eucharist ie. ‘Breaking of the bread’ where one finds
and acknowledges Jesus, as we see in the journey of two disciples to Emmaus.
This is the way every Christian to discover Jesus, who is the way to life. They
go away from Jerusalem. Jesus meets them on their way and puts them back on
track
Thursday, 13 September 2018
13. Lk. 21: 34-36
Lk. 21: 34-36: Jesus stresses the need to be
upon the watch. A Christian should not think that he lives in a world, which is
settled in situations but rather he must think that he lives in a permanent
state of expectations. He must live in the shadow of eternity, in the certainty
that he is fitting or unfitting himself to appear in the presence of God. So
the Christian life must be a thrilling one
Wednesday, 12 September 2018
12. Lk. 21: 25-33
Lk. 21: 25-33: Jesus speaks about his second
coming. We are advised not to have argument about it as to when it comes and
what it would be like. Our conception of history must be that it is moving
towards a goal – a goal in which Jesus will be recognized by all as LORD. That
is all we know and all we need to know. He uses the parable of the fig tree to
know this principle
Tuesday, 11 September 2018
11. Lk 6: 27-36
Lk 6: 27-36: Love your enemies in
v.27 apply first to his persecutors of Christians in his communities. Jesus
doesn’t ask for a mere tolerance but active love. More specifically the above
verse 27 applies to the possessors of his community. They are not to show a
mere reciprocity but to be uncalculating in their giving. In any society, the
rich, the middle class, the poor and the poorest need conversion to Jesus’
words though in different degrees, manners and terms
Sunday, 9 September 2018
9. Mt. 13: 24-30
Mt. 13: 24-30: The passage teaches us that there
is a hostile power that works against all that is good. Often this power cannot
be distinguished in the beginning or we should not indulge in hasty judgments.
We are told to accept them as in the field – a mixture of good and evil (wheat
and weeds) as a whole. The one who is perfect –‘God’ himself has the power to
judge correctly at the end of the world –at the maturity of time
Saturday, 8 September 2018
8. Mt. 1: 1-16
Mt. 1: 1-16: While giving the
genealogy of Joseph, the last verse shifts to focus on Mother Mary and the
birth of Jesus. The shift to focus on Mary is with a purpose to show that she
is chosen by God Himself to be the mother of God. Thus royalty of kingship
gained, the tragedy of freedom lost, the glory of liberty restored. It is the
mercy of God that is the story of mankind and of each individual man
Friday, 7 September 2018
7. Lk. 13: 6-9
Lk. 13: 6-9: Just as the fig
tree is given a final chance, a period of grace, to bear fruit, so people are
given time to repent and reform. There is no space for self-complacency.
Spiritual collapse is more death-dealing then physical death because its
implications are eternal. We can direct ourselves to God or to sin. In either
case we are responsible for what we will have become
Wednesday, 5 September 2018
5. Mt. 7: 1-6
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
Tuesday, 4 September 2018
4. Jn. 16: 20-24
Jn. 16: 20-24: The world’s careless joy
will turn to sorrow; and the christian’s apparent sorrow will change into joy.
Faith is the foundation of this joy. It will never be taken away and it will be
complete. So in Christian joy the pain which went before is forgotten.
Monday, 3 September 2018
3. Mt. 19: 27-30
Mt. 19: 27-30: He who stands with Christ
in his suffering, will surely rise with him in eternity. A Christian will
receive far more than ever he has to give up – a divine human fellowship. God’s
standards of judgments are not men’s. The new world he enters into will be a
surprise for him. There is eternity to adjust the misjudgments off time.
Sunday, 2 September 2018
2. Mt. 13: 1-9, 18-23
Mt. 13: 1-9, 18-23: The seed grows where
there is openness to the Word (FAITH), trust in its power (HOPE) and a
readiness to go out of oneself (LOVE). Seeds fell on footpath are the
disinterested people with their own interest clashing. The superficial ones
receive the seed of faith like that fell on rocky grounds and soon discouraged
and burnt and dry away. Those sown among thorns are believers but the fruits to
be harvested along the difficult path seem not to satisfy them.
Saturday, 1 September 2018
1. Mt 13: 44-51
Mt 13: 44-51: If we really understand the worth
of the kingdom, we shall do this with great joy because we are aware that what
we are getting (the treasure, the pearl) is what our deepest self really wants
and is worth far more than anything we can give up for it. The parable of the
net tells us about the scandals existing in the church and one should not
tolerate them passively. The separation is needed and is permanent for the
kingdom and will become definitive on that very day because love is the law of
the kingdom of heaven.
Friday, 31 August 2018
31. Lk 12: 54-59
Lk 12: 54-59: People knew to read the signs of
nature. So the signs which are seen around Jesus are enough for the sincere
ones to understand that now is the time announced by the prophets to be
converted and Israel must acknowledge it savior. The urgency of conversion for
Jesus must be done before it is too late with a reconciliation between brothers
and sisters because we are in our way to God’s judgment so that we can take
advantage of the right situation we are then, if we are in the above said
positions
Thursday, 30 August 2018
30. Lk. 17: 20-37
Lk. 17: 20-37: The final coming of the kingdom
of heaven is something men can never calculate or make research upon. Jesus
says that in one sense the kingdom has already come. It is at work in people who
have received the Good News of Jesus. False prophets will bring confusion in
the minds of some people. The end of the world comes suddenly for which the
believers are told to prepare and wait
Wednesday, 29 August 2018
29. Mk 10: 35-45
Mk 10: 35-45: The disciples were not a company
of saints. They were ordinary men set out by Jesus to change the world. They
were ambitious having failed to understand Jesus, his mission and the purpose
of his coming. In them we find the amazing confidence and the amazing loyalty
in Jesus. Jesus raised these ordinary men to change the world as apostles and
his ambassadors of the Divine plan – the will of God to which Jesus submitted
himself to
Tuesday, 28 August 2018
28. Lk 9: 23-27
Lk 9: 23-27: If Peter’s
profession of Jesus is the truth but not the whole truth. To grasp the full
meaning of Jesus’ definition of his identity, it is to have vast consequences
for the lives of his disciples. We cannot take Christ without the cross; it
will lead one to delusion. Nor can we take the cross without Christ, this leads
to despair.
Monday, 27 August 2018
27. Lk 12: 35-40
Lk
12: 35-40: The message of preparedness is presented in a parabolic language
here. The disciples are asked to wide awake to God’s gift and to the demands of
God’s kingdom. One should be open to truth. It is not enough just not to avoid
evil but to promote goodness
Sunday, 26 August 2018
26. Lk. 18: 35-43
Lk. 18: 35-43:
The cure of the blind man speaks not only of restoration of the physical sight
but the gradual emergence of spiritual sight among the disciples. While the
disciples saw what is happening in the outside world and so told the blind man
to keep quiet, the blind man has an inner focused need to be rectified i.e. to
regain sight. So he shouts for Jesus!
Saturday, 25 August 2018
25. Mk. 2: 13-17
Mk.
2: 13-17: Jesus dines with tax collectors. The association with public sinners
of which Levi the tax collector included could make one ritually unclean in
these time. Jesus cracks open the status quo as he draws people into the
kingdom by cleaning, healing them. Now the power to forgive which moves among
us is the power of Jesus. He is the Messiah-our abiding agent of reconciliation
and the source of liturgical power.
Friday, 24 August 2018
24. Lk 6: 12-19
Lk 6: 12-19: The 12 disciples including St.
Bartholomew were called by Jesus to be with him as friends and messengers. They
were called from the 72 disciples to become apostles to be sent out as
ambassadors of Christ. They were very
ordinary men with strange mixture –hot tempered, zealots, tax collectors,
fisherman with their own emotional attitudes. All of them found themselves
peaceful co-existence in the company of Jesus.
Thursday, 23 August 2018
23. Mt 13: 10-17
Mt 13: 10-17: Jesus makes every parable a
challenge. Every parable makes one to decide after understanding his or her
situation in life in the context of the parable told. Confronted by God’s love
erupting into our life, we are forced to decide. We either accept God’s love or
reject it. Many Jews chose the latter.
Wednesday, 22 August 2018
22. Mk 5: 1-13
Mk
5: 1-13: A man, who was
possessed with evil spirits, was cured by Jesus. The demon
enjoyed a routine way of life in the man who was living among the tombs of the
dead. 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.
Tuesday, 21 August 2018
21. Lk. 14: 1-6
Lk. 14: 1-6:
The Jews were corrupted by the
interpretation and practice of the Sabbath laws. To them comes Jesus active. He
revives them by giving new meaning for the Sabbath laws. He proves that
‘Sabbath is for the good of man and not man for the Sabbath’(Mk 2: 27).
Sunday, 19 August 2018
19.. Lk 18: 1-8
Lk 18: 1-8: If the persistent plea of a
helpless widow gets through to an unjust, how much more effective will it be
with God? Jesus the son of God will surely come however long – delayed his
coming may seem towards the groaning under persecution of Christians living in
difficult times. So the Christian should never cease praying and pleading for
redemptive justice inspired by faith in Jesus.
Friday, 17 August 2018
17. 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.
Thursday, 16 August 2018
16. Mt 12: 46-50
Mt 12: 46-50: Passage through the red
sea inaugurated the beginning of the people of God. Our baptism is also the
beginning of a process of our maturing in the Lord. The truly significant bonds
that join people are not biological but spiritual: the shared experiences of
school, seminary, political campaigns, joy, sorrow and deliverance. Jesus tells
us that those who listen to and keep his word are his brothers and sisters in a
new family that knit together by the Holy Spirit. We all have experienced
deliverance through baptism.
Wednesday, 15 August 2018
15. Jn 2: 1-12
Jn
2: 1-12: Independence or Liberty is the
celebration of the spirit. If the spirit cannot celebrate due to a physical
bondage or the absence of a physical need, how can there be true independence?
Bl.V. Mary did the same. She helped the host family at Cana to have good wine
in abundance by a miracle by her son Jesus. She freed the spirits of the people
there. She gave importance to the spirit than her physic. So she also indicated
to the true freedom by her Assumption to heaven or her son showed humanity the
true freedom by his mother’s assumption.
Tuesday, 14 August 2018
14. Mt. 9: 18-26
Mt. 9: 18-26: The ruler of the
synagogue and the woman with hemorrhage came to Jesus with insufficient faith.
The former came out of desperation and the latter with a superstition. Both
were granted the favours they asked for or desired in their hearts. Jesus makes
the event holy and memorable and inadequacy of our faith is made wholly.
Monday, 13 August 2018
13. Lk 6: 43-45
Lk
6: 43-45: A man cannot be judged in any other way than by his deeds. Teaching
and preaching are both ‘truth through personality’. Fine words will never take
the place of fine deeds. The modern secular movements can never be defeated by
mere words, writing and so on than proving that Christianity produce better man
and woman.
Sunday, 12 August 2018
12. Lk. 17: 11-19
Lk. 17: 11-19: 10 lepers were
healed but only one who came back to
thank God, was told “ your faith has saved you” while the 9 Jews who were
healed responded to the legal requirements, the latter was the one who happened
to be a non-Jew responded straight from his heart. Among the many people asking
God for healing and favours, how many will come to that saving faith which is a
new relationship to God through Jesus?
Saturday, 11 August 2018
11. Mk. 13: 3-13
Mk. 13: 3-13:
people, confused are easily fooled by propaganda and ideologies. Fear makes
them blind and they persecute those who do not share their fanaticism. That is
why they hate the true believers. Jesus asks his followers to bear witness to
him as the only savior and proclaim what the Gospel demands of the individual
and of society.
Friday, 10 August 2018
10. Mt. 10: 16-25
Mt. 10: 16-25: Jesus warned his
disciples that the days to come they might well find the state, the church and
family conjoined against them. Christianity preaches a view of man which no
totalitarian state can accept. Christianity aims to obliterate certain trades,
and professions and way of making money- it still does – and church can never
closes her eyes towards the malpractices of the state, church and family
members. So is a Christian liable for
persecution.
Thursday, 9 August 2018
9. Mk 10: 35-45
Mk 10: 35-45: The disciples were not a
company of saints. They were ordinary men set out by Jesus to change the world.
They were ambitious having failed to understand Jesus, his mission and the
purpose of his coming. In them we find the amazing confidence and the amazing
loyalty in Jesus. Jesus raised these ordinary men to change the world as
apostles and his ambassadors of the Divine plan – the will of God to which
Jesus submitted himself to.
Wednesday, 8 August 2018
8. Mt. 7: 15-20
Mt. 7: 15-20: Teaching people in a
brilliant way, working miracles are gifts though good for the community does
not guarantee that one is pleasing to God. True faith activated by love is the
real key for the kingdom of heaven. To explain this message Jesus uses the
parable of grapes and its fruits. The true disciples are those who produce
fruits of love.
Tuesday, 7 August 2018
7. Jn. 4: 27-38
Jn. 4: 27-38: The desire to tell others
of the Samaritan women’s discovery about Jesus killed in her the feeling of
shame –a shame of being an outcast and now being cured by Jesus her intimate
sinful status, made her to discover Jesus as the Messiah and she ran to tell
her neighbors and the people of her village whom she was avoiding till now.
Once she is cured from her inner self, she is free to share Jesus to them. She
understood to do the will of God and for her that was the only way to
happiness.
Monday, 6 August 2018
6. Mt. 17: 1-9
Mt. 17: 1-9: Mountain has been the
traditional place of divine revelations from Old Testament times. Peter
representing us answered as to who Jesus was and now it is the Father who gives
us the answer. Jesus is the Beloved Son; the Eternal Love of the Father can
only be satisfied by the Son who shares as his own Divinity. Jesus is the
chosen one, the savior announced by the prophets of old. He ‘makes man fully
manifest to himself and brings to light his exalted vocation’ (CCC 1701)
Sunday, 5 August 2018
5. Lk. 16: 19-31
Lk. 16: 19-31:
The wall the rich man makes willingly in this life becomes after his death, an
abyss which no one will be able to bridge. The one who accepts this separation
will find himself on the other side forever. So Jesus asks us to work with a
view to remove the abyss which separates them in this life by this parable.
Saturday, 4 August 2018
4. Mt. 9: 35- 10: 1
Mt. 9: 35- 10: 1:
What we learn through our struggles with darkness can help others to see light.
It can be our way of bringing in the harvest. We all struggle to find God in
our life. If we pursue in the ‘dark night of the soul’ or ‘spiritual aridity’
to the conclusion, we can emerge from them with deeper and clearer sight.
Friday, 3 August 2018
3. Mt. 22: 34-40
Mt. 22: 34-40: The striking point
in today’s Gospel is not that Jesus commanded to love our God and our neighbor
but that he joined them as two sides of the same coin. It is not artificially
connected. If a person really loves his or her neighbor, such a person loves
God at the same instant
Thursday, 2 August 2018
2. Lk. 12: 49-53
Lk. 12: 49-53:
The zeal that Jesus enkindle in one, will spotlight sin and the one turns away
from it will gradually create reaction and generate conflict and strife in the
other who are servants of sin. It is the kind of reactive strife that one is
faced with and that in turn create division - people for Christ and against
him.
Wednesday, 1 August 2018
1. Mt. 9: 35 - 10: 1
Mt. 9: 35 - 10: 1: As
Christians, we are invited to heal and cure the world, its many sicknesses,
physical, psychological, social and ecological through our effective concern
for our wounded planet. This requires a personal transformation which
ultimately the gift of God’s spirit.
Tuesday, 31 July 2018
31. Mk. 13: 24-31
Mk. 13: 24-31: Prophesying the end
of the Jewish world Jesus comes to the end of the world, which would be sudden
with confusion and a surprise for the people. But the end of the world would
bring its transformation too.
Monday, 30 July 2018
30. Lk 18: 25-30
Lk 18: 25-30: The
whole tendency of possession is to shackle a man’s thoughts to this world. He
has so big a stake in it that he never wants to leave it, and never things of
anything else. It is not a sin to have much wealth-but it is a danger to the
soul and a great responsibility. So one must struggle as ‘a camel going through
the eye of a needle’. This struggle of one to enter the kingdom is an important
message in this season of Kaitha.
Sunday, 29 July 2018
29. Mk. 7: 1-13
Mk. 7: 1-13:
Religion to Pharisees became an instrument of self-deception and neurosis.
Jesus restores the commanding vision of Genesis where life is a gift from God
to be reverenced and celebrated. Religious traditions must make life coherent
and insert us into a wide community of faith and meaning.
Saturday, 28 July 2018
28. Jn 12: 20-26
Jn 12: 20-26:
Jesus will die and the universal church will be born. Jesus allows his lifeless
body to be laid in the earth; on rising from the tomb, his same body, now
glorified, will also embrace the believers united to him. The life that is now
his will be communicated to all the children of God. St. Alphonsa understood
and lived according to what Jesus preached and practiced.
Friday, 27 July 2018
27. Mk. 8: 22-26
Mk.
8: 22-26: Unlike all other miracles of Jesus which happened suddenly and
completely, this miracle happens in stages. It is gloriously true that sudden
conversion is a gracious possibility, but it is equally true that everyday a
man should be re-converted. With all God’s grace and glory before him he can go
on learning for a life time and still need eternity to know as he is known.
Thursday, 26 July 2018
26. Mt. 10: 5-15
Mt. 10: 5-15:
Love and fidelity are the norm of matrimony for husband and wife. There is no
other way as indicated here. Husband and wife are not two but “they shall be
one body” (Genesis 2:24) Jesus says the same in 10:8. Thus their conjugal union
binds them in an indestructible bond.
Wednesday, 25 July 2018
25. Mt. 20: 20-28
Mt. 20: 20-28:
Jesus tries to convince his followers that success in his kingdom does not
consist in prestige and power, but in following the way of Jesus, their leader.
Jesus came to serve and his service to humanity will be his voluntary death. He
made himself obedient, took the condition of a slave and died on the cross
(Phil 2:8). ‘To drink the cup’ and ‘to be baptized’ are figurative ways of
describing the suffering and death of Jesus.
Tuesday, 24 July 2018
24. Lk. 4: 25-30
Lk. 4: 25-30: Jesus
opposes the idea and belief of the jews that all misery and suffering is that
of the sinners. Jesus shows mercy to the oppressed and people of suffering. So
the reference of Elijah and Elisha coming to help the poor, needy and
oppressed, angered the Jews.
Monday, 23 July 2018
23. Mt. 23: 34-39
1 Mt.
23: 34-39: God wanted to protect, love and care the people of Jerusalem. But
they refused the prophets, Christ and first Christians who came in the name of
God and spoke His Word. But they were killed and rejected. Destruction of
Jerusalem was a punishment of its crimes. God’s plan and way cannot be
objected, blocked by any one.
Sunday, 22 July 2018
22. Jn. 9: 1-12, 35-38
Jn.
9: 1-12, 35-38:
The incident speaks about Jesus as the light for the blind eyes. Now is
the time for the work to be done, decisions to be taken and appropriate steps
to be initiated. Jesus is still doing things which seem to the unbelievers far
too good and far too wonderful to be true.
Saturday, 21 July 2018
21. Lk 14: 15-24
Lk 14: 15-24: The parable speaks about
an eschatological final gathering into God’s community of salvation. For this
heavenly banquet which will take place at the end of time, Jesus sends out the
invitations. The time to respond is now! Those who are invited (in the parable
the cream layer of the Jewish people) seem to have rejected the invitation on
the false pretexts their own concerns. The second invitation to the Jewish
people who are poor, crippled, outcasts and the marginalized and the third
invitation to the gentiles indicate the togetherness of a wider community of
God.
Friday, 20 July 2018
20. Jn. 20: 19-29
Jn. 20: 19-29: The disciples are
seen bundling in a secret place for fear of Jews. The ‘Jews’ here means the
hostile powers that work against Jesus. To these fearful disciples Jesus brings
transformation, leading the disciples from the darkness of fear, unbelief and
distress into the lights of peace, joy of the risen Lord and the Spirit. He
breathes on them as if he is making them of a new creation, new humanity from
the fearful apostles. Jesus does so again and again even today.
Thursday, 19 July 2018
19. Mk. 11: 12-14, 20-26
Mk. 11: 12-14, 20-26:
The fig tree is full of leaves but no fruits seen. The superficial and
deceptive aspects of life are seen but when the fruits of prayer and piety are
absent in one, Jesus condemns one such a person and withers like this fig tree.
Jesus draws the attention of this kind of dangerous life of a person.
Wednesday, 18 July 2018
18. Jn. 12: 23-28
Jn.
12: 23-28: Unless the grain of wheat falls into
the earth and dies (v.24) speaks about the universal law for all life that will
be fruitful. The seed that is stored in barns doesn’t produce life and
fruitful. It is by scattering into the earth that the seed produces its fruits.
The first believers were already saying: “the blood of the martyrs is a seed”.
Tuesday, 17 July 2018
17. Lk 6: 20-26
Lk 6: 20-26: ‘If you set your heart and
bend your whole energies to obtain the things which the world values, you will
get them –but that is all you will ever get’. But on the other hand if you set
your heart and bend all your energies to be utterly loyal to God and true to
Christ, you will run into all kinds of trouble; you may be according to the
worldly standards look unhappy, but much of your payment is still to come; and
it will be joy eternal.
Monday, 16 July 2018
16. Mt 7: 21-28
Mt 7: 21-28: whenever we teach or work
miracles, these abilities and ministries given us for the good of the community
do not assure us that we are in the grace of God. It is not enough that we know
Jesus but it is important that Jesus knows us-which makes us eligible and
worthy of his grace. For4 that we must do true faith works through love (Gal
5:6) and moves us to fulfill all love (James 2: 8)
Sunday, 15 July 2018
15. Lk. 15: 11-32
Lk.
15: 11-32:
The parable of the ‘Lost Son’ gives us the message that in the outgoing
and forgiving love of his ‘father’, the wayward son recaptures his true
position as ‘son’. The parable requests us to recognize the open-hearted,
forgiving love of God to all people, even the least; to recognize the ‘lost’ as
God’s children just as we are.
Saturday, 14 July 2018
14. Mk. 2: 1-12:
Mk.
2: 1-12:
Jesus’ word of forgiveness is as effective as his word of healing. He
shows that he can with authority act for God. In Jesus the grace filled
nearness of God’s kingdom makes itself felt. The church continues this ministry
of forgiveness (CCC 1421) in the sacrament of reconciliation.
Friday, 13 July 2018
13. Lk. 12: 4-12
Lk. 12: 4-12: The
attitude to life is fearlessness. Man’s power over man is strictly limited to
this life only. The soul cannot be destroyed by any man. God’s power can blot
out a man’s very soul. So God only is to be feared. At the same time to God we
are never lost in the crowed. We are taken care of by the Holy Spirit, who
leads one to repentance. If we have lost
the seed of repentance over sin then we are far away from Him
Thursday, 12 July 2018
12. Jn. 8: 48-59
Jn. 8: 48-59: In time Jesus saw nothing
but pain, dishonor and rejection. In eternity he saw only the glory which he
who is obedient to God will someday receive. Jesus had the supreme optimism
born of supreme faith, the optimism which is rooted in God. In Jesus alone we
see what God wants us to know and what God wants us to be. In Jesus the eternal
God shared himself to men.
Wednesday, 11 July 2018
11. Jn. 10: 22-28
Jn. 10: 22-28:
Jesus promised to those who accepted him of eternal life, a life that would
know no end and a life that was secure even in a world crashing to disaster.
They would know the serenity of God. It is both an invitation and a promise.
Friday, 6 July 2018
6. Mt. 10: 37-42
Mt. 10: 37-42: The dependency to the family members hampers
the spiritual and human growth. It is not that we must not love our families
and be concerned about them. This is a duty which Jesus insists upon in 15:
4-7. But we are to avoid excessive attachments or inordinate affections which
restrict our freedom to do God’s work. His belonging to the Family of God is
primary.
Thursday, 5 July 2018
5. Mt. 23: 13-22
Mt. 23: 13-22: The word ‘hypocrite’ not
only means to appear to be what one is not but also it refers to the one who
makes light of the things of God and who causes loss of respect for them. These
teachers close the path to true knowledge of God the Father, and bar the way to
freedom and confidence which is proper to the children of God.
Wednesday, 4 July 2018
4. Lk. 16: 9-17
Lk. 16: 9-17:
We should use our things to enhance our friendships and not to use our
friendship to enhance the number of things we have. Each of us has a god we
serve. The question centers upon, which will attract our devotion. Spiritual
bonds endure over time. Things can be lost or rotten.
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
3. Jn. 20: 24-29
Jn. 20: 24-29: This
exclamation of Thomas is the supreme affirmation of faith in which the sum
total of the Johannine faith is expressed. Thomas exclamation is indeed the new
covenant declaration of our relationship with the word incarnate, a confession
which each one of us is called to make and thereby enter into the blessed v. 29
life of Jesus’ community.
Monday, 2 July 2018
2. Mt. 12: 38-42
Mt. 12: 38-42:
The Pharisees want a miracle that will undoubtedly prove that Jesus do the work
of God. Jesus refuses. People who love truth and seek what is right will
recognize the seal of God in the deeds of Jesus. But Jesus will have to give a
sign – his resurrection. So people, who demand a miracle before they believe,
receive no answer.
Sunday, 1 July 2018
1. Lk. 13: 22-30
Lk. 13: 22-30: Jesus foresees that people from
all nations will convert and come into the church. The Jews alone cannot claim
the kingdom of God by merely having a superficial acquaintance with Jesus. It
demands serious effort like entering through a narrow door. The v. 25b “I do
not know where you come from” is very frightening. It exhorts us to have a serious examination
of conscience.
Saturday, 30 June 2018
30. Jn. 7: 14-24
Jn. 7: 14-24:
Jesus heals the impotent man on the Sabbath and the action infuriates the
Pharisees. Jesus on the other hand justifies his action glorifying God. Jesus
has the argument with them and he tells them to judge fairly. We see the
logical, keen and clear mind of Jesus defeating the wisest but ill intentioned
men of his times.
Friday, 29 June 2018
29. Jn 21: 15-19
Jn 21: 15-19: Jesus reveals himself as the supreme shepherd
because he loves his people and that he appoint a shepherd to look after his
flock. The basis of his shepherd is love. So he confirms that love from St.
Peter of his love for him. As he affirms his love for him, Peter becomes the
new shepherd of his flock, when Jesus is absent from them physically.
Thursday, 28 June 2018
28. Mk. 10: 46-52
Mk.
10: 46-52: The blind man at Jericho understands
that if he lets this opportunity go by there will not b another chance; so he
shouts all the way. An authentic disciple must be the one who is fully
convinced of his/her total inability to become God’s child except through the
power of Jesus. Only Jesus can provide the divine light. The bind man
designates Jesus as Son of David. He actually ‘sees’ who Jesus is, more clearly
than the disciples and the crowd who have been with him all along.
Wednesday, 27 June 2018
27. Lk. 15: 8-10
Lk.
15: 8-10: A woman searches diligently for her
lost coin. The same way Jesus speaks of a God who searches for men who are lost
in sin. For Jews it is a new idea or concept. Man searching God is understood
by them easily. We believe in the seeking love of God, because we see that love
incarnate in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to seek and to save that
which was lost.
Tuesday, 26 June 2018
26. Mk. 4: 21-25
Mk. 4: 21-25: The word works
secretly within the heart but when we discover the transformation that is at
work in our life, we readily proclaim Christ and make known to others the
secret that has made us happy. So Jesus wants us to read the Gospel and
challenge ourselves before we follow any further. Then we produce fruit
according to the Gospel in our life.
Monday, 25 June 2018
25. Mt. 12: 33-37
Mt.
12: 33-37: That which is in the heart can come to
the surface only through lips. Jesus laid it down that a man would specially
render account for his idle words. In public he carefully chooses what he says
in private he takes the sentinels away. So whatever he says in anger what he really
thinks and what he has often wanted to say, but which the cool control of
prudence has kept him from saying. It is often these words which cause the
greatest damage. A man may say in anger things he would never have said if he
was in control of himself.
Sunday, 24 June 2018
24. Lk. 12: 57 - 13: 5
Lk. 12: 57 - 13: 5:
Jesus speaks about individual conversion
and to have that conversion at the earliest, lest it is too late like that
happened to those people upon whom the tower fell and perished. A Christian
must be prepared to face any eventuality to settle things before the things go
wrong.
Saturday, 23 June 2018
23. Mk. 12: 38-44
Mk. 12: 38-44:
Though the teachers of the law were not bad persons and they were interested in
religion. They teach people trying to be a saint but he becomes a weak person.
The very respect that people show leads them to overlook in themselves many
wrongs that in anybody else would be severely censured. The poor woman is the
personification of those uncountable poor, who made retribution to God as one
deserves. God calls on the poor to give all that they have to live on.
Friday, 22 June 2018
22. Mt. 13: 24-30 & 36-43
Mt. 13: 24-30 & 36-43: Because of the roots of wheat and
weed are intertwine it is dangerous to put out the weeds. In the same way
virtue and vice are seen intertwined in our life and it is, for us to see which
direction we are moving forward. Because good and evil mingle in this world we
need vivid symbols and signs to serve as focal points for our faith and our
life.
Thursday, 21 June 2018
21. Jn. 6: 60-63
Jn. 6: 60-63:
Jesus knew that some would not receive him and reject him with hostility. No
man can accept him unless he or she is moved by the Spirit of God. The word of
God that Jesus spoke is the key to this Spirit of God by which one can come to
God through Jesus.
Wednesday, 20 June 2018
20. Mk. 12: 1-12
Mk. 12: 1-12: The
early church saw what was told in the parable fulfilled. The Jewish people
rejected Jesus while the gentiles receiving him. The church is this new
vineyard of Christ being entrusted by Christ to cultivate, care for and to
bring forth fruits for God who is the rightful owner.
Tuesday, 19 June 2018
19. Mt. 11: 1-6
Mt.
11: 1-6: Jesus preached the gospel of divine
holiness with divine love. He was saying to the disciples of John (to whom the
episode is directed) “May be I am not doing the things you expected me to do.
But the powers of evil are being defeated not by irresistible power, but by
unanswerable love”. Jesus’ aim was to draw faith and hope from the disciples of
John. It is again a direction to his disciples too.
Monday, 18 June 2018
18. Jn. 16: 25-33
Jn. 16: 25-33: Jesus
opens up the way to the father making the one who believes in Jesus is also the
beloved of God. To him there is the forgiveness, sympathy and the gift of
Jesus. He is not alone, but with the Father making easy for the believer to
come to the Father.
Sunday, 17 June 2018
17. Lk 12: 22-34
Lk
12: 22-34: It is not what we earn but what we give
makes our life a blessing to all. To explain the above, Jesus tells this
parable of the rich fool, in which the quantity of his wealth never saves him
and never gives him eternal security. So the one who trusts in the providence
of God, will find happiness in life, safety in the hand of God. He will forsake
anxiety of heart and seek the kingdom of God in all throughout his life.
Saturday, 16 June 2018
16. Mk 1: 40-45
Mk 1: 40-45:
All who had skin diseases were considered lepers at Jesus’ times and thereby
unclean and are outcastes. 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.
Friday, 15 June 2018
15. Mk. 5: 21-24 & 35-43
Mk. 5: 21-24 &
35-43: Jairus wanted a
physical contact with Jesus-but Jesus looked beneath the surface touch to the
deeper contact of faith. Through faith we make contact with Jesus. We can
contact the same Jesus and be healed by the same saving power through faith and
the sacramental liturgical life of the church.
Thursday, 14 June 2018
14. Mk. 7: 24-30
Mk.
7: 24-30: Jesus
is seen here in healing and preaching without looking into the people’s
background especially of religion or caste. Jesus wants us to avoid all kinds
of disparity from our minds and in matters of service; he wants us to be more
generous. In this gentile woman also Jesus finds faith and he praises it in
front of others.
Wednesday, 13 June 2018
13. Mt. 14: 22-33
Mt.
14: 22-33: ‘Walking on water’ is considered a
divine act from Old Testament times. The disciples failed to understand the
significance of this divine act even after ‘the multiplication of bread’. Only
the final acts – the cross and the resurrection of Jesus could invoke some
understanding in the minds of his disciples. Thereafter all deeds of Jesus were
understood by the disciples probably with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Tuesday, 12 June 2018
12. Lk 10: 38-42
Lk
10: 38-42: Two sisters respond differently but authentically to the Lord.
Martha is busy serving and Mary listens to the Word. Jesus approves what Mary
has done. We all develop spiritual and sacred shorthand by which we standardize
our efforts and responses to events. Such an approach is much easier in a busy
world that seeking out the uniqueness of individuals that come our way. Mary
reminds us to make time to examine the special features of our family, Social
and professional loves. Each situation caries its own individual potential for
grace and life.
Monday, 11 June 2018
11. Mt. 10: 16-22
Mt. 10: 16-22:
The passage gives us the experience of the generation of Christians after
Christ’s earthly life. The Christians were hunted by the state, rejected by the
religious establishment and ridiculed by their families. A great leadership was
demanded to unite them all as of today when the church faces religious
pluralism, affluence and secular hegemony. We have to struggle to keep
ourselves at spiritual peace.
Sunday, 10 June 2018
10. Lk. 6: 27-36
Lk. 6: 27-36: Jesus teaches about how
the eschatological community should be. There must be a structural social
change. It depend upon personal change –which remains for long time only when
it happens from the personal conversions. The social change which happens
without the personal conversion and it will not last long because of the new
structures of oppressions and exploitations starting from it. So Jesus
advocates about love for enemies.
Saturday, 9 June 2018
9. Mt. 5: 13-20
Mt.
5: 13-20: Jesus gives three missionary images to
explain the role of these who follow him. They are to be salt, light and a city
built on a hill. This means that they are to be a grout of peoples who will be
highly visible because of the unusually dedicated character of the lives, who
will illuminate the world as light does, and who sanctify, purify and preserve
the world in its relationship of God lie salt.
Friday, 8 June 2018
8. Jn. 19: 30-37
Jn. 19: 30-37:
Water that flowed from the side of Christ stands for the powerful new life as
well as the spirit. Blood expresses the saving power of Jesus’ death. The
salvific power is displayed in these symbols of blood and water.
Thursday, 7 June 2018
7. Lk. 8: 4-15
Lk. 8: 4-15: Luke wishes to impress the Christians
that they must be fervent and ‘active’ hearers of the word (v. 8:8). So
whatever worries, pleasures, discomforts that they may tend to strangle the
growth of faith in the word, they should persevere with open and responsive
minds and hearts. The parable of the sower is meant to elicits from the hearers
to be active.
Wednesday, 6 June 2018
6. Jn. 4: 39-42
Jn.
4: 39-42: The Samaritans were introduced to
Christ by the woman. The word of God must be transmitted by man to man. We also
find in Samaritans a nearer intimacy and growing knowledge of Christ. Soon
their growth in knowledge in Jesus came to discovery and they surrendered to
Christ as the savior of the world. What they found in Jesus, John writes later
in 1 John 4: 14 and gives Jesus this title ‘par
excellence’
Tuesday, 5 June 2018
5. Mt. 18: 6-9
Mt.
18: 6-9: Sometimes, it is an individual who leads
others to sin at other times it is society itself with its corruption, violence
and unjust social structures. Jesus invites us to be aware of sin personal and
social. There will be evil in this world, but we must make sure that we do not
contribute to it or let it flourish through our inactivity.
Monday, 4 June 2018
4. Jn. 6: 30-36
Jn. 6: 30-36: It was God who gave
manna to the people; of Israel in the wilderness. It was only symbolic of bread
of life. The real bread from heaven is to be found in the one who came from
heaven, i.e. Christ himself. In him we find not only satisfaction from physical
hunger, but life also. Jesus was claiming that the only real satisfaction was
in him.
Sunday, 3 June 2018
3. Lk. 10: 25-37
1 Lk.
10: 25-37: The Jewish conception of a neighbour originates
from ‘flesh’ and ‘blood’. Jesus corrects
this by establishing that the neighbour is the one who is close to any brother
or sister in need. Loving the neighbour must not be only in the thought but
also in deed as we see in this parable of Good Samaritan.
Saturday, 2 June 2018
2. Jn. 6: 1-15
Jn. 6: 1-15:
Jesus needs what we can bring to him. It may not be much but he needs it. If we
would lay ourselves on the altar of service, there is no saying what we could
do with us and through us. We may be sorry and embarrassed that we have not
more to bring, it is no reason to fail to bring. Little is always more in the
hands of Jesus.
Friday, 1 June 2018
1. Jn. 6: 45-50
Jn. 6: 45-50:
Jesus is the bread of life. Bread is very essential for life. Those who refuse
to Jesus are those who miss life in this world and in the world to come. Those
who accept Jesus will find this life worth and glorify God in the world to come.
Thursday, 31 May 2018
31. Jn. 6: 51-59
Jn.
6: 51-59: In a general sense Jesus speaks of
eating his flesh and drinking his blood. The flesh of Jesus means his complete
humanity. In Jewish concept blood means ‘Life’. So it means that we should have
the humanity and life of Jesus. John meant more that this general sense. He was
saying if you want life, you must come and sit at that table where you eat that
broken bread and drink that poured-out wine which somehow, in the grace of God
brings you into contact with the Lord and life of Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, 30 May 2018
30. Jn. 6: 37-44
Jn. 6: 37-44: Life
in Jesus is life in time and life in eternity. In him we find new satisfaction.
The hunger and thirst are gone in him. The human heart finds what is was
searching for and life ceases to be mere existence and becomes a thrill and
peace and even beyond life we are safe in him.
Tuesday, 29 May 2018
29. Jn. 6: 64-71
Jn. 6: 64-71:
Peter has a personal relationship with Jesus though he did not understand many
things he spoke. So Christianity is not a philosophy we accept, nor a theory to
which we give allegiance but a personal response to Jesus. It is this personal
allegiance and love one is motivated to surrender his heart, mind and soul to
Christ.
Monday, 28 May 2018
28. 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 Christ-less 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.
Sunday, 27 May 2018
27. Lk. 7: 36-50
Lk.
7: 36-50: Simeon’s reception of Jesus was without
any love in his heart. But the sinful woman’s was a service of love by washing
his feet with pure nard oil while Simeon did not even wash his feet. Jesus
loves sinners, out castes which Simeon criticizes. It is love that forgives sin
and when sins are forgiven that love grows. Jesus teaches all those assembled
there this great lesson. He also teaches us that the real knowledge is to
recognize that we are sinners. God’s love follow us to redeem us.
Saturday, 26 May 2018
26. Jn. 6: 25-29
Jn. 6: 25-29:
Jesus is sealed by God, he is God’s truth incarnate and God alone can truly
satisfy the eternal hunger of the soul which he created. For this Jesus offers
us a relationship of service, purity and trust in God. When we do that, Jesus
satisfies us from our eternal thirst and hunger.
Friday, 25 May 2018
25. Lk. 7: 11-23
Lk. 7: 11-23:
We, the ministers of the church are called to summon all who are spiritually,
ecclesiastically, canonically, intellectually dying people to new life. The
church should be a place not where people come to die but where they can come
to receive new vigor and life.
Thursday, 24 May 2018
24. Jn. 2: 13-25
Jn. 2: 13-25: With
the trade and the entire ritualism in the temple what happens in the temple was
a mere ritualistic worship while the hearts of the people are far from God. So
Jesus reacts and cleanses the temple like that of the Old Testament prophets.
Unless there is a connection between our piety and our everyday living, our
devotions and liturgical services are pure hypocrisy which God rejects.
Wednesday, 23 May 2018
23. Mt. 13: 31-35
Mt.
13: 31-35: Small
beginnings lead to mighty end. The parable of the ‘Yeast’ also brings out the
same message. With the added insight or faith, Christianity spreads as it were
by infection from persons caught up by the new experience of God and who
communicate it spontaneously to others. Thus the end result is big enough to be
seen.
Tuesday, 22 May 2018
22. Mt. 20: 29-34
Mt. 20: 29-34:
Many people get material and spiritual benefits from God through Jesus, but
forget to say thanks to him. Ingratitude is the ugliest sin of all. Here we
find these two blind men after receiving sight give due loyalty to him. We can
never repay God for what he has done for us but we can be grateful to him.
Monday, 21 May 2018
21. Mt. 11: 25-30
Mt.
11: 25-30: It is the Christian conviction that in
Jesus Christ alone we see what God is like and Jesus can give that knowledge to
anyone who is humble enough and trustful enough to receive it. Jesus is
compassionate to those people trying to find God to be good and doing so,
driven to weariness and despair.
Sunday, 20 May 2018
20. Jn. 16: 5-15
Jn.
16: 5-15: Holy Spirit gives freedom and sanctifies
our souls. Moses received the message of freedom in the presence of fire that
doesn’t consume the plant on mount Horeb (Ex. 3:2; 9-10). The pillar of fire
travelled at night in front of the Israelites (Ex. 13:21). It is the tongues of
fire (Holy Spirit) that guided and inspired the disciples. Fire has always been
symbolical to the Holy Spirit both in OT and NT. The Holy Spirit is seen
empowering the disciples in the Gospels. Holy Spirit teaches about sin, justice
and last judgment as found in the Gospel of today.
Friday, 18 May 2018
18. Mt. 24: 7-14
Mt.
24: 7-14: A true missionary and disciple of Jesus
will be hated by the people, will be handed over for suffering by the people
and Jesus says that the one who endures till the end will be saved. It is not
about the time of suffering that Jesus speaks about but the fullness of
suffering.
Thursday, 17 May 2018
17. Lk. 14: 25-35
Lk.
14: 25-35: The man who follows him should not be
on the way to worldly power and glory, but must be ready for loyalty which
would sacrifice the dearest things in life and for a suffering which would be
like the agony of a man upon a cross. It is the Christian way to salvation. But
he won’t be alone. He who called him to the steep road will walk with him every
step of the way and be there at the end to meet him.
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