Monday 24 October
Monday of week 30 in Ordinary Time Saint Antony Mary Claret, Bishop Gospel - Luke 13:10-17 “‘There are six days’ he said ‘when work is to be done. Come and be healed on one of those days and not on the sabbath.’” The synagogue official interprets the healing of Jesus as a work. This interpretation continues in our life. We also interpret our mission and acts of love and mercy as work. The result is that we have working hours to love and do charity. We started making holidays for doing good things. When the mission is transformed into a duty, the mission loses its life. Mission is not anymore part of you. Mission is just a means to do something good. This is not following Jesus. Jesus did heal the woman on sabbath because his action was part of his love and mission. Before the person who needs his help, there is nothing that stops him. This is the mission. Nothing can stop from doing good when there is life in our mission. Before this gospel let’s analyze how much life is there in my mission? Or do I find excuses for not doing good? Or do I postpone the good I have to do good?
Sunday 23 October
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel - Luke 18:9-14 Jesus is saying the parable regarding those who “prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else”. Priding oneself on being virtuous is that we do when we want to feel better than others because we are not really better than others. So, our pious activities give us the false assurance that we are better. The quality of life is not measured by the pious activities we do, but on how much we love. What matters is how much you are humble to love. The more you are humble, the more you can love. The intensity of love is measured by the strength of humility. And the quality of life is measured by the intensity of love. But when the pious activities do not generate love, they force us do despise everyone else. Because it puts you in the center and the rest of the world is worthless. Let us be humble to love and then rest of our activities be around this principle.
Saturday 22 October
Saint John Paul II, Pope Gospel - Luke 13:1-9 “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year” This is what God does. He gives us grace. He gives us freedom. He gives us opportunities. But the choice is ours. The tree has the choice to absorb the manure and produce fruits or just absorb it and not produce fruits. When He sees that His love is not producing fruits in us, He tries to love us more. Grace and opportunities are given without taking out our freedom. The choice is ours. How are we choosing? Are we using the grace and opportunities to produces fruits which will be good for others or are we using it for ourselves? Along with this in the Church we are so much privileged. All these privileges are manures given to us to produce fruits. Again, the choice is ours. Are we using these privileges for our interests or using them for producing fruits of love, and justice. So, let us think: Are we using the grace and opportunities given by Gods love and privileges given by the Church for producing fruits for others or for ourselves?
Friday 21 October
Friday of week 29 in Ordinary Time Gospel - Luke 12:54-59 “How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?” How is that we don’t know how to interpret our times? Because we read our times without Jesus Christ! We want to read our times as our product, as our achievement, as our success. This is where we miss. The time and every single event in time belongs to the Lord of the times. And there is the plan of God which runs in time and in every single event. If you want to be part of that plan, we must be part of the Lord of history, Jesus Christ. To be part of Jesus Christ, we must love and forgive. So, every moment you love, and you forgive, you become part of the history of humanity redeemed by Jesus Christ. From this perspective you can interpret the history in the right way. Are you ready to become part of the time of Jesus Christ by loving and forgiving?