Tuesday 11 July
Saint Benedict, Abbot, Co-Patron of Europe First reading - Proverbs 2:1-9 The reading is about Wisdom which the Lord gives. But in the beginning of this reading there are three things, very essential. First is to take the Word of God to heart, then to turn your ear to wisdom and then to apply your heart to truth. Taking the Word of God to our hear and then turning our ear to the Wisdom that is in the Word of God and then making sure that our heart follows the truth in the Word of God. This is the way to understand what virtue is, what justice is and what fair dealing is. Like that, we will know all paths that lead to happiness. The three essential things which the reading says has to be followed. Word of God is to be taken to our heart by relating the Word of God to our day-to-day life. We must turn our ear to the wisdom of the Word of God by seeing what God wants from us and not what we want from God. And finally, we apply our heart to truth by making decisions based on the wisdom of the Word of God. These three steps form part of the one process. A process where we find all the paths that lead to happiness. Let’s reflect: Am I applying my heart to truth by following the wisdom of the Word of God which leads me to happiness?
Monday 10 July
Monday of week 14 in Ordinary Time First reading - Genesis 28:10-22 “a ladder was there, standing on the ground with its top reaching to heaven; and there were angels of God going up it and coming down”. This is the perfect picture of our relationship with God. God-man relationship is a ladder. A ladder where love is experienced and exchanged. A ladder where the grace comes down and our offerings go up. A ladder where God our Lord is always available. The ladder is the presence of God in our life. It happens as a dream for Jacob. Actually if we think it’s a dream. It’s a dream to have the presence of God in our life as a ladder of reciprocal communication. God is accessible. How beautiful out life becomes! Jacob’s reaction is important. ‘How awe-inspiring this place is! This is nothing less than a house of God; this is the gate of heaven!’ He identifies that place at the gate of heaven. This is our task. To identify our hearts as the gates of heaven and not the gates of hatred and anger. God is present in your life and your heart can be the gate of heaven. Let’s reflect: Am I recognizing my heart as the gate of heaven due to the presence of God in my life?
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?