Dec 20, 2023 | DAILY BREAD
Saint Peter Canisius, Priest, Doctor
First reading – Song of Songs 2:8-14
‘Come then, my love, my lovely one, come. For see, winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth. The season of glad songs has come, the cooing of the turtledove is heard in our land”. In the book of the Song of Songs we can understand that our relationship to God must be a relationship of love. We have to fall in love with our God as He is in love with us. The mystery of incarnation changes everything. The winter is past. The flowers appear on the earth. God who is in love with us is not anymore away from us, He is with us. He is the one calling us to fall in love with him. Let’s reflect: Am I in love with my Lord?
Dec 19, 2023 | DAILY BREAD
First reading – Isaiah 7:10-14
“The Lord himself, therefore, will give you a sign. It is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel, a name which means “God-is-with-us.” The Lord is giving the sign. He is not giving up on us. He wants to make sure that we understand His plan for us. And what is this sign? The Virgin will give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel, a name which means, God-is-with-us. She will call the name Immanuel. She is the one who experienced the Holy Spirit behind this sign. She is the one who live this experience in herself. Her testimony is truth. She felt so much the experience of the Lord. That is why Mary is so special. Let’s reflect: Do I recognize the role of Mother Mary in the plan of salvation?
Dec 18, 2023 | DAILY BREAD
First reading – Judges 13:2-7,24-25
“‘A man of God has just come to me; his presence was like the presence of the angel of God, he was so majestic. I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not reveal his name to me. But he said to me, “You will conceive and bear a son”. This is the way God works. He finds possibilities where we cannot. He can find ways which we cannot. The point that we don’t understand is not the reason to reject something. Here the barren wife of Manoah became a mother because of the intervention of God. She became an instrument of God to be mother of Samson through whom God saved many. In the New Testament, Mary became the Mother of God to give birth to Jesus to save the whole world. When we cooperate to grace and when we have the desire to be part of the plan of God, we can become His instruments. Let’s reflect: How much I want to cooperate to the Grace of God to be His instrument of salvation?
Dec 17, 2023 | DAILY BREAD
First reading – Jeremiah 23:5-8
Through the word of Prophet Jeremiah, the Lord is announcing the effect of incarnation. What is going to happen with the coming of the Lord! He will reign as true king and wisdom. The wisdom of God is going to be shared with us. And He will be practising honesty and integrity in the land. The Lord will bring justice on earth. The Lord will save us from all that try to keep us as slaves. The grace which is going to be attained through the incarnation is going to be liberate us from our sins. Moreover, we can live in confidence. Not about the fear of our errors and sins. We are sure that the Lord will forgive us. All the more, the Lord will be called “The Lord-our-integrity”, because we share His dignity. We become sons and daughters of God because He is our integrity. Lastly, all of us will be able to live in our land because this grace is not taking away our freedom but giving us the freedom to live our life with our responsibility as sons and daughters. Let’s reflect. Do I recognize that the incarnation of God made me a son or daughter of God?
Dec 16, 2023 | DAILY BREAD
3rd Sunday of Advent
Second reading – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24
“Be happy at all times; pray constantly; and for all things give thanks to God, because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus”. This is why God became man. So that we can be always happy. With this happiness we can communicate with the Lord. The main content of this communication with the Lord is to give thanks for His presence in our life. His presence is a liberating presence. His presence gives us freedom. His presence brings the good news to the poor and binds up the hearts that are broken. This redeeming presence clothes us in the garments of salvation and adorns me with the jewels of grace. This wonderful presence of the Lord is to be acknowledged and thanked in our prayers. The Word of the God say, “this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus”. Let’s reflect: Do I acknowledge and thank the presence of Jesus in my life by being happy at all times?
