Sunday 9 July
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading - Zechariah 9:9-10 “See now, your king comes to you; he is victorious, he is triumphant, humble and riding on a donkey…” This paradox is the key of our spirituality. Victorious and triumphant but humble and riding on a donkey. The reality of incarnation of the second person of God is depicted here. God became man. Triumphant God but humbled himself to become a man. He finishes all wars and proclaims peace for the nations. His empire shall stretch from sea to sea. Our following of Jesus Christ is to learn how to be humble when we are victorious and triumphant. How to be unpretentious when we are successful and powerful. How to be modest when we are rich and glorious. How to be down to earth? This is the process we must go through. The process of becoming humble when we are triumphant. Let’s reflect: How much am I humble in my successful moments?
Saturday 8 July
Saturday of week 13 in Ordinary Time Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary First reading - Genesis 27:1-5,15-29 This episode in the book of Genesis is very curious. We see something strange. Esau is called to be blessed. Jacob comes and grab the blessing. And the mother Rebekah is assisting the younger son to have this blessing. And Isaac blessed the younger one thinking that he is the elder one. There is no moral justification for what had happened but the message in this episode is that God and his plan are above all kinds of human interventions. God works through our plans but it’s not our plan that guides the history but His plan. It’s God who gives the dew from heaven and the richness of the earth, abundance of grain and wine. Let’s reflect: Am I aware that God guides my history and not my calculations?
Friday 7 July
Friday of week 13 in Ordinary Time First Friday: Let us entrust ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus First reading - Genesis 23:1-4,19,24:1-8,62-67 “He will now send his angel ahead of you, so that you may choose a wife for my son there”. Yes, the plan of God is experienced by those who are led by angels. The story of Isaac finding Rebekah is very much inspired the intervention of the Lord. The story of salvation is guided by the Lord in its details from the Lord. The positive experience with the Lord is that the God takes the initiative and God paves the way for what He wants. Isaac is finding Rebekah and he loved her. God helps that. The life with God is a life where God interacts constantly. The life with God is a life where even God assists us in small details. Let’s reflect: how much I let God in my life?
Thursday 6 July
Thursday of week 13 in Ordinary Time Saint Maria Goretti, Virgin, Martyr First reading - Genesis 22:1-19 “God put Abraham to the test”. This is what we read in the first sentence of this day. The first thing which comes to our mind is the question, “why does God want to put into a test?”. It is not that God puts us into a test. This is a reality of our daily life. Our faith in God is being test in all ways. The basic reality of temptation in our life is the freedom of man. The freedom of man is tested every time when we must make the choice. The basis of this choice must be “On the mountain the Lord provides” as the Word of God says. The point of our choice is to see the greatness of God instead of the pain of sacrifice we think we must make for the Lord. The greatness of the Lord does not permit us to suffer but we imagine that we would suffer if we chose the Lord. So, let’s be smart to understand the greatness of God before our temptation to go against the Lord with the freedom He gave us. Let’s reflect: Am I giving importance to the Lord or to the choice I have?