Tuesday 17 January
Saint Antony, Abbot Tuesday of week 2 in Ordinary Time First reading - Hebrews 6:10-20 We “should have a strong encouragement to take a firm grip on the hope that is held out to us. Here we have an anchor for our soul, as sure as it is firm”. The anchor for our soul is the promise of God that He will bless us always. “I will shower blessings on you and give you many descendants”. The promise of God is irrevocable because it is the Word of God. It cannot be altered. That is our strong encouragement. That is our strong hope. That God will shower blessings on us always. Upon this hope we must build our relationship with God. “Our one desire is that every one of you should go on showing the same earnestness to the end, to the perfect fulfilment of our hopes, never growing careless, but imitating those who have the faith and the perseverance to inherit the promises”. So, we must have earnestness to the end in the abovesaid hope. Not hope in anything else but in the promise of God. Then we must not grow careless or easy going. It should be like the anchor, always held tight and firm. There we need the help. The help is in imitating those who have the faith and perseverance. Imitation of saints. Let’s reflect: Are we anchoring our hope earnestly in the promise of God without growing careless?
You don’t understand
“You don’t understand”, this is a key phrase we hear from people who wants to put us down, especially when they repeat it. This is a phrase of attack. Never say this. But in case you must say this, think 100 times before. Because it can be that I did not explain something well and that is why the other party did not understand. Then when someone is saying this to you, “You don’t understand”, don’t defend yourself. Because often this phrase is a sign of desperation and impatience. Don’t doubt your capacity of understanding or yourself. Be calm and understand the intention of the person. Then you will see the whole picture. So, whenever you hear this phrase, “You don’t understand”, it is not that you must understand what he or she says, but that you must understand the person who says that. Don Giorgio
Monday 16 January
Monday of week 2 in Ordinary Time First reading - Hebrews 5:1-10 The author of the letter is speaking about the liberation of the priesthood from tribe descendance and becomes a vocation. So, no one takes this honor on himself, but each one is called by God. Not only that the priesthood is a call but also, it’s a life to be lived according to the call. The life of Jesus is the best example. Jesus lived his priesthood to the perfection through suffering in obedience. Although he was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering. And thus, Jesus became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation. There comes the relevance of following Jesus Christ. In Jesus, our suffering gets a meaning, our obedience gets a meaning, our existence gets a meaning. In Jesus we are liberated and in Jesus our obedience through suffering gets a meaning. Our obedience through suffering becomes a sacrifice. Becomes an act of a high priest in Jesus Christ. Let’s reflect: Are we united with Jesus Christ in our obedience through suffering?