Jun 30, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Mark 5:21-43
“Jesus went with him”. This is a verse which we read and just pass by. But do we really recognize what does this mean? This is the absolute statement of God’s love. God came to us. God became man to accompany us, to live with us, to walk with us. So Jesus went with Jairus to heal his little daughter. Jesus could have healed the little daughter without going with him like in the case of the servant of another officer. But here Jesus is going with him. On the way the people wer around him and this woman sufferring from a haemorrhage touched him. She was healed. The faith of this woman heales her. This shows how much Jesus is full of love to heal us. Then Jesus continues his walk to the house of Jairus and faces the news of the death of daughter of Jairus. That father was devastated. He left his daughter in search of Jesus and in his absence his daughter died. The gospel says, “But Jesus had overheard this remark of theirs and he said to the official, ‘Do not be afraid; only have faith.’” This is the love of God. He overhears and acts. This love of God is that which accomapnies us always. Let’s reflect: Do I recognize the love of Jesus who walks with me?
Jun 29, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles – Solemnity
Gospel – Matthew 16:13-19
“Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God”. This is the testimony of the Prince of the Apostoles, St. Peter. This speaking up gives us the real testimony about the person of Jesus Christ. This testimony is personal and at the same time, it is the testimony of all Apostles. This is personal because he is answering a personal question of Jesus. ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ The said about the different answers which are prelavent in the society. Then Jesus asked a very personal question, ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ To this Simon Peter made this answer. So this a very personal answer which he felt in his life, in each moment of his life with Jesus. At the same time, it was an answer as the first of the Apostles. This we can understand from the response of Jesus. “Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven”. This is because it was a revelation of the Father to Simon Peter as the first of the Apostles. The revelation by the Father to Simon Peter in a personal experience so that he can be testify the truth everywhere. The trutha that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God. Let’s reflect: How much I am devoted to the revelation given to St. Peter?
Jun 27, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Saint Irenaeus, Bishop, Doctor, Martyr
Friday of week 12 in Ordinary Time
Gospel John 17:20-26
“I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one”. What a gift! The second person of the Holy Trinity shared His glory with us. His glory we received in Baptism. His life we received and nurtured by other sacraments. He has given us His life for a specific reason. The reason is to cultivate unity between us. So that the disciples are united as one. And this unity is not any kind of unity. He wants that we are united like the unity in the Trinity. This is what we pray in each Holy Mass also. In this gospel passage, Jesus also explains how this is possible. This is possible only when Jesus is alive in us, “With me in them and you in me,may they be so completely one”. When Jesus is alive in us we can be united. But when our ego is alive in us we will be divided. This is very important because only the unity can be the testimony of the love of God for us, “that the world will realise that it was you who sent me and that I have loved them as much as you loved me”. So, when Jesus is alive in us we can be united. When we are united we become testimonies of His love. Let’s reflect: To what extend Jesus alive in me, urges me to create unity?
Jun 26, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Thursday of week 12 in Ordinary Time
Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop, Doctor
Gospel – Matthew 7:21-29
“Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock”. Only by just calling “Lord, Lord”, we will not become disciples of the Lord. We must do the will of the Father in heaven. In the name of the Lord, we may be doing miracles or casting out demons, but that will not make us His disciples. Miracles work or demons are casted out because of the power of the Lord in others. But in ourselves it will work only when we do the will of the Father. We must convert ourselves. Becoming disciple is like building a house on the rock. A strong relationship with Jesus with concrete actions and decisions. That is what makes the discipleship. This relationship is built by listening to the Word of God and then acting according to the Word of God. Concrete actions of love towards others based on our Word of God create discipleship. Nothing can destroy that bond of discipleship with Jesus. Otherwise it will be like a house on the sand. Easily affected by any little discomfort or challenges. Let’s reflect: How strong is my discipleship to Jesus as a relationship to Jesus?
Jun 25, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Wednesday of week 12 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Matthew 7:15-20
“You will be able to tell them by their fruits”. This is a very simple teaching which can be verified by the nature around us. From the fruits we can know which is the tree, not only the tree but also the health of the tree. If the tree is healthy, it produces good fruits. Also if the fruits are good, we can call it a good tree. So it’s about the kind and quality of the tree. It’s important to be a good kind of tree and to produce good quality fruit. By baptism we are all good kind of trees bearing within us the life of Christ. Now we have the challenge to produce good fruits which are good actions. We get the energy to produce good actions by cooperating with the graces given through sacraments and through our spiritual life. Our good actions, our good words, our good thoughts, our good temperament are signs that we are producing good fruits. But if we are praying a lot and at the same time we are getting iritated for everything, that means I am not cooperating with the grace. Concrete good actions are the real good fruits which must come from us. Real actions of love and charity. Let’s reflect: Am I producing good fruits by my concrete actions of love?
Jun 25, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Tuesday of week 12 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Matthew 7:6,12-14
“So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets”. This is the golden rule. We want that others treat us good and we are not ready to do that. We must treat others as we would like them to treat us means we must everyone good. Because we want that everyone treats us good. But there is an important point to note in this. This is not a claim that everyone must treat us good. It only suggests how we must behave. Based on this we cannot say that we treat them well and they also should treat us well. We treat them well because we want that they also treat us well. Whether they treat us well or not is not to be considered in this command of Jesus. We must treat everyone well. That is the narrow road leads to life because that is the way of the cross in which there is life. Let’s reflect: Do I claim that others must treat me well because I treat them well or I treat them well without any claims?
