Mar 13, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Thursday of the 4th week of Lent
Gospel John 5:31-47
Jesus is the fulfilment of all the promises of the Old Testament. That’s why Jesus is saying that “if you really believed him (Moses) you would believe me too, since it was I that he was writing about;”. The main accusation against Jesus is that He was proclaiming himself as God. But Jesus is explaining how He is being testified by the Father. The testimony of the Father can be seen in the completion of the paschal mystery. Not only that, the Word of God announced in the Old Testament also testifies the mission of Jesus. In both cases, Jesus is not claiming anything. He attributes everything to His Father who sent Him and to the promises made by God to the People of God. This is converging point of the identity of Jesus. Jesus is revealing the face of Father. But only if one has the love of God in himself or herself, can recognize this face of the Father. The authorities of the People of God in that time did not want a face for God because the absence of the face of the Father was their way to sell what they want. In Jesus, the face of God the Father is revealed. Let’s reflect: Lent is to discover the face of God the Father revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.
Mar 12, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Wednesday of the 4th week of Lent
Anniversary of the Election of Pope Francis
Gospel John 5:17-30
“For the Father, who is the source of life, has made the Son the source of life; and, because he is the Son of Man,”. In this passage we can read about the relationship between Jesus, Son of God, and God the Father. And also, the plan of salvation for the humanity through the incarnation. The most important point is to recognize the plan of salvation is not any human plan. This is the plan of God where we can find the mystery of the Holy Trinity is being revealed. God the Father is the source of life. And through the incarnation, the Son became the source of life for the humanity because he became really man. And this life is distributed by the Holy Spirit in the act of believing in this plan of salvation. God’s plan of salvation is the plan for me. This plan is not an impersonal plan. This plan is a plan of relationship as between God the Father and God the Son. Let’s reflect: Lent is the time to understand that the plan of my salvation is a plan of God’s relationship with me.
Mar 12, 2024 | NEWS
A workshop for the new General Board began at the General House on Sunday, March 10. The intensive meetings and workshops will last until Saturday evening. The meeting began with Mass in the Colosseum. The purpose of the meeting is to prepare for the work of the Generalate and to set the main tasks for the Board and for the congregation for the next six years, as indicated by the General Chapter. The program also includes a day of recollection and a pilgrimage to the Holy Face of Jesus in Manoppello. During this time we also surround all the Sisters with our prayers.
Mar 11, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Tuesday of the 4th week of Lent
Gospel John 5:1-3,5-16
“‘Sir,’ replied the sick man ‘I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone else gets there before me.’ Jesus said, ‘Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk.’ The man was cured at once, and he picked up his mat and walked away”. Here we can find two important aspects of faith. First of all, we find Jesus appearing before a person who has no one in his life to help him. He was sick for thirty-eight years and no one was in his life to help him. Jesus recognizes this and is appearing before him. This is very consoling for us. Jesus recognizes our helplessness and appears before us. Then there is another important message which the story of this paralyzed person is telling us. He was waiting to be put in the pool for being healed but God had a different plan. This means, we must be open to the plan of God and not to be stuck in our narrow way of thinking. Faith must open up our way of thinking and must not close us in our narrow boxes. There is always a possibility of just picking up the mat and walking way instead of being put into the pool in the first place the water is moved. Let’s reflect: Lent is the time to make our faith open us up to the plans of God and not closed in our plans.
Mar 10, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Monday of the 4th week of Lent
Gospel John 4:43-54
“The man believed what Jesus had said and started on his way”. This is the faith. They were all looking for signs and portents. That is why Jesus is asking him, “So you will not believe unless you see signs and portents!” And this court official from Capernaum is not asking for signs but asking Jessus to come to his house to save his child. But Jesus just asked him to go home and that his son will live. When this court official accepted the Word of Jesus and believed in that, he made his conversion. His conversion from searching for signs into believing in the most visible sign, Jesus Christ. The Word of God is the most powerful sign in our midst. And when we start believing in that Word of God and not in the signs or miracles that Word God performs we also make this conversion. We have to move from searching for miracles to believing in the Word of God. And without any assurance we must start our journey like the court official. Just the Word of Jesus is enough. Lent is time to go in faith by moving forward just by trusting in the Word of God.
