Saturday 19 August

Saturday 19 August

Aug 18, 2023 | DAILY BREAD

Saturday of week 19 in Ordinary Time Saint John Eudes, Priest Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary First reading - Joshua 24:14-29 ‘It is the Lord our God we choose to serve; it is his voice that we will obey.’ They choose to serve the Lord. It’s not imposed on them. It is their decision to serve the Lord. Based on this decision they listen to His voice and then they will obey. This decision is based upon their gratitude for what the Lord has done to them. Recognition of the intervention of the Lord in their life prompted them to choose the same Lord and to cast away the alien gods among them. They gave their hearts to the Lord the God of Israel. This becomes the covenant which Joshua made for the people. “Then he took a great stone and set it up there, under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord, and Joshua said to all the people, ‘See! This stone shall be a witness against us because it has heard all the words that the Lord has spoken to us:”. The Crosses in our houses, the Crosses which we wear, are the signs of the covenant of our choice to give our hearts to the Lord. Let’s reflect: Do the cross I wear or I have in my room, remind me of my covenant to the Lord?
Friday 18 August

Friday 18 August

Aug 17, 2023 | DAILY BREAD

Friday of week 19 in Ordinary Time First reading - Joshua 24:1-13 In this narration of Word of God by Joshua we can something very special. How God is taking care of His people! In the Word of God, we read 17 times, “I” in this short passage. In the sense that God is taking care of things very personally. In this we can see how God is accompanying us! How God is preparing His plan for us! How God is preparing guides and leaders in our life! How God is saving us! How God is changing history for us! How God is liberates us! This is the Lord we worship. This is the Lord we must encounter in our life. Let’s reflect: Am I recognizing the personal interventions of the Lord in my life?
Thursday 17 August

Thursday 17 August

Aug 16, 2023 | DAILY BREAD

Thursday of week 19 in Ordinary Time First reading - Joshua 3:7-11,13-17 “Accordingly, when the people struck camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant in front of the people. As soon as the bearers of the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests who carried it touched the waters” the waters stood still, and the people crossed the river. “The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood still on dry ground in mid-Jordan, and all Israel continued to cross dry-shod till the whole nation had finished its crossing of the river”. The priests with the ark of the covenant is a symbol to meditate in our life. When we have the presence of God in the midst of our life by prayers and sacraments, we have the same presence of the priests with the ark of covenant. The waters stand still. The troubles stand still. The difficulties stand still. And we can cross these troubles and difficulties without being affected by none of these. But we must make sure the presence of God in our life through the Word of God. The Word of God takes the place of priests, and prayers and sacraments take the place of the ark of covenant. Then we can cross the Jordan through the dry land. We can cross our troubles and difficulties without being disturbed by these. Let’s reflect: Do I have the presence of God in my life through prayers and sacraments, based on the Word of God?
Wednesday 16 August

Wednesday 16 August

Aug 15, 2023 | DAILY BREAD

Wednesday of week 19 in Ordinary Time Saint Stephen of Hungary First reading - Deuteronomy 34:1-12 “I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross into it.”. This is very important message from the Word of God. In the last part of the today’s first reading, we read that, “Since then, never has there been such a prophet in Israel as Moses, the man the Lord knew face to face. What signs and wonders the Lord caused him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and his whole land! How mighty the hand and great the fear that Moses wielded in the sight of all Israel!”. But still he did not enter into the promised land. How do we want to rate it? As a failure or as a success? The criteria of determining what is a success or a failure before God is not the one we have for other circumstances. What do you want more if you could know the Lord face to face? It is not about the achievements but it’s about our relationship with God that counts. It’s not about how many things we did in our life but how much profound is my relationship with the Lord. Let’s reflect: Am I concerned about my achievements or about my relationship with the Lord?
Tuesday 15 August

Tuesday 15 August

Aug 14, 2023 | DAILY BREAD

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary First reading - Apocalypse 11:19,12:1-6,10 “The woman brought a male child into the world, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne, while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had made a place of safety ready”. We are celebrating the Feast of the Assumption, The commemoration of the death of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the Dormition, or falling asleep, as it was known in the East) is known as the Assumption because of the tradition that her body did not decay but that she was raised up, body and soul, into heaven. It’s a feast because Mother Mary is our forerunner and with her, we all have a space in heaven. In the First reading we can see the figure of Mother Mary who gave birth to the child who was to rule all the nations and sitting in the throne. But the woman escaped into the desert where God had made a place of safety. This is the point of our reflection: she is in the desert, place of isolation and sufferings. But she has a safe place. She is together with us in the desert of our isolation and suffering. When we are with her, at the same time we are in a safe place because God had made a place of safety for her. So being with Mother Mary is being in a safe place albeit the loneliness and suffering of the desert. Let’s reflect: am I together with Mother Mary in the safe place prepared by God in the midst of the my desert?