Sunday 18 September
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel - Luke 16:1-13 Dishonest steward put us forward a challenge: are you ready to do what is necessary to be the children of light? Are you ready to be astute to accept extra challenges to be the children of light? The question here is: are you ready to love more to help the other? Often, we are happy with the minimum and we don’t think out of the box to help the other. We have our structures and systems. We have our framework through which we want to do our service. Anything outside of that framework we don’t want to do because that will give me extra challenges. The dishonest steward was ready to take extra challenges to save his position. He is ready to do anything to save himself because for him he himself is the important one in his life. We are often not ready to accept extra challenges to love the other in need because they are not important. We become prisoners of our system because for us our system is more important than the poor and the needy. Make the needy and the poor the priority of your life to be the children of light.
Saturday 17 September
Saint Robert Bellarmine, Bishop, Doctor Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin, Doctor Gospel - Luke 8:4-15 The gospel speaks about the parable of the Sower. Don’t be afraid to sow. We have lots of fears to sow. We have lots of excuses not to sow. Because first of all, we don’t recognize the power of what we are sowing. Jesus says, “the seed is the word of God”. So, if you have the Word of God, why are you afraid of sowing? Don’t make judgements about where you are sowing. Just sow the Word of God. But make sure that it is the Word of God that you are sowing and not your word. Often, we have fears because we don’t have enough faith in the power of the Word of God. Believe in the Word of God and be a Sower. Be a Sower of the Word of God to all you meet today. May be even with a smile…
Friday 16 September
Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs Friday of week 24 in Ordinary Time Gospel - Luke 8:1-3 “…several others who provided for them out of their own resources.” The Gospel is speaking about brave women who were following Jesus and adds this phrase, ‘provided for Jesus and his disciples out of their own resources’. Often our following of Jesus is a search for resources. We become victims of our own search for resources for helping others and doing projects. But in the Gospel today, we see these brave women who is following Jesus and providing for them with “THEIR OWN RESOURCES”. We must follow Jesus with our own resources. Most of the time we look for resources and we lament that we did not find resources. For some other, the search for resources rest in search for courses. This is the not what the message of Gospel is telling us. Follow Jesus with our own resources, with our own heart, help those around us with our own resources. To do good we don’t need a course or a project, just open your heart and mind to the cries and tears of the others.
Thursday 15 September
Our Lady of Sorrows Thursday of week 24 in Ordinary Time Gospel - John 19:25-27 Below the cross Mary participated and embraced the pain of her son on the cross for the salvation of humanity. She participated in the pain of Jesus for the salvation of each of us. Even more Jesus said, “Woman, this is your son”. She embraces each one of us, our pains, our fears, and our aspirations. And she transmits the love of God to us. We must be close to her to feel that embrace, when Our Lady of sorrows takes our sorrows and comforts us with the love of God expressed and experienced in her son. “This is your mother”. This is the gift of Jesus from the Cross. Why are we waiting to hug her when we are in troubles? Run to her! She is always there below our crosses participating in our sufferings and pains.