Saturday 21 January
Saint Agnes, Virgin, Martyr on Saturday of week 2 in Ordinary Time First reading - Hebrews 9:2-3,11-14 In Jesus Christ, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies become one. He is the perfect space where the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies meet. He offered the perfect sacrifice. And why He did that? He did that for us, for each one of us. He offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit which can purify our inner self from dead action so that we do our service to the living God. Here we understand the importance of His sacrifice. It’s not with the blood of goats and bull calves, but with his own blood He won an eternal redemption for us. Since it’s His own blood, and as He assumed our nature, it is not anymore, a purification of our outward lives, but it’s the purification of our inner lives, a purification in our inner self from dead actions, actions which spread darkness. This purification enables us to do our service to the living God, a service which lights up the live of others. When you are sitting before Jesus in the tabernacle, this purification realizes itself, when you are participating in the Holy Eucharist, this purification becomes a reality. Let’s reflect: The blood of Jesus Christ makes a purification of our inner self as He participated in our nature through His incarnation.
Friday 20 January
Friday of week 2 in Ordinary Time Saint Sebastian, Martyr Saint Fabian, Pope, Martyr First reading - Hebrews 8:6-13 “I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts…. I will forgive their iniquities and never call their sins to mind”. This new relationship of God with us is something revolutionary. It is something very personal to each one of us. This is a new relationship. I will establish a new covenant. And it’s not like the previous one, not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors. This is a covenant where the Lord takes care of each one of us. “‘There will be no further need for neighbor to try to teach neighbor, or brother to say to brother, ‘Learn to know the Lord.’”. The Lord takes care of each mind and heart. He will put His laws into each mind and write it on each heart. This intimacy reminds us of the gift of Eucharist where the Lord comes to each one of us in a very special way. The Lord is so close to us. This is the new covenant, a covenant of personal relationship where the Lord became one with me to write His laws in my heart. He forgave all my sins to be one with me. Let’s reflect: In Eucharist God becomes one with me to write His law of love in my heart.
“I know”
“I know”, this is a phrase which we repeat very often. But how many times we can really say that we know? Do we take it seriously what we say, or we just say because we don’t want to say that we don’t know. So, it’s very important to think before we say, “I know”. Let’s try not to say, “I know”, to save our ego. There is no shame in saying that I don’t know. Even some basic things. Be honest to say that “I don’t know”. The phrase, “I know” is a responsibility. Especially when we are dealing with people and their emotions, we should be extra careful to say, “I know”, because it is often a judgement. Don Giorgio