Jan 30, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Saint John Bosco, Priest
Wednesday of week 4 in Ordinary Time
Gospel - Matthew 18:1-5
“I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”. This is the logic of the Kingdom of God. We must change and become like the children of God. How to change? Jesus himself is explaining it. You must make yourself a little child. This is the way to be greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. So, again, the question comes: how to become oneself like a child? This can be achieved only by emptying yourself from everything that makes you think that you are important, and you are great. Whatever you are, you are a son or a daughter of God. You are a child of God. To live this fundamental truth is the first step in becoming a child. When we try to live this fundamental truth that we are children of God, everything in our life becomes relative to this fact. Children stay in the house of the Father, children live with the Father, children follow the Father. So we recognize our condition of being sons and daughters of God and we try to live as a child of God, we are in the Kingdom of God. Let’s reflect: Recognize your truth as a son or daughter of God and live as His child to be in the kingdom of God
Jan 29, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Tuesday of week 4 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Mark 5:21-43
“Who touched me?” This is a question which Jesus asks and turns around and looking for the person. Jesus is God and He is not a power producing machine or just a miracle working machine. He wants to have a personal relationship with the person who touched Him with faith. He wants to know that person. He is not ready to listen to the disciples. So, his question goes from “my clothes” to “me”. Jesus turned round in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ His disciples said to him, ‘You see how the crowd is pressing round you and yet you say, “Who touched me?”’ With all the crowd around Him, He is not giving up in His search. But he continued to look all round to see who had done it. This is Jesus. He continues to look all round, all around to see who touched Him. He never gives up. He continues to look around. Let’s reflect: Jesus continues to look around to find out who touched Him, and so, let’s touch Him.
Jan 28, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Monday of week 4 in Ordinary Time
Gospel - Mark 5:1-20
Jesus is saving this man in the country of Gerasenes from an unclean spirit. This episode is a great mediation for understanding what happen when we are under the possession of unclean spirit, when our mind and heart is not filled the Holy Spirit. This man lived among the tombs – always negative behaviour; no one could secure him – not listen to anyone and does whatever he wants; he broke the chains and fetters – breaking always the rules and norms; he would howl and gash himself with stones – lack of self-esteem and subsequent self-torture. These are signs of the presence of the unclean spirit in that man and these are signs of the absence of the Holy Spirit in us. In this episode we can also see what happens to a person who is filled with unclean spirit. It will happen the same thing what happened to the pigs – rushed down the cliff into the lake. In other words, self-destruction. The unclean spirit or selfishness brings destruction. Let’s reflect: Recognize the absence of the Holy Spirit in our life and welcome Jesus into our life.
Jan 27, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel - Mark 1:21-28
“And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority”. Jesus has authority because He is God. The authority of Jesus is His love for us. He wants to save us. He loves us. That is His authority. He wants to get the unclean spirit out of us. He saves us. It’s important to note that the people are speaking about his teaching. His teaching is His mission. His mission of saving the man from the unclean spirit is His teaching. The teaching of Jesus is not different His action of saving. He saves by making each one of us His own. We belong to Him. The unclean spirit leaves the man because it understood that the man belongs to Jesus Christ. This is what happens with the word of Jesus. We belong to Jesus and when we submit ourselves to His Word, every evil in us disappears. Let’s reflect: When we submit ourselves to the authority of Jesus, we will be cleaned off by His word.
Jan 26, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Saturday of week 3 in Ordinary Time
Saint Angela Merici, Virgin
Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Gospel – Mark 4:35-41
“Master, do you not care? We are going down!” This is a question we often ask with recognizing the power of the presence of Jesus in our boat. We see more the waves, the problems, the questions. Not the power of Jesus. With the sound and appearance of the waves, the silent presence of Jesus is forgotten. We see the magnitude of the problems in our life which makes lots of noise and commotion which often frightens us. In this fear, we forget the silent presence of Jesus in our life. The clamour of the problems shuts our hearts to the sweet presence of Jesus in our life. The question here is, ‘to what you give importance, to the fears caused by the screams or to the faith caused by the recognition of Jesus in our boat’? This is what Jesus is also saying to the disciples, “Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?”. Let’s reflect. Faith overcomes the clamours of fears with the certainty of the presence of Jesus in our life.
Jan 25, 2024 | DAILY BREAD
Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops
Friday of week 3 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 10:1-9
“Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals”. In the missionary journey there is no need of any physical necessities. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals, so what is there to carry? There is nothing to carry but the faith in the Lord who is assisting us. This statement is always undermined. The missionary spirit rests in completely giving up everything and in completely depending on providence for everything. This is what is important. Completely giving up and completely depending on. This is where we often make conditions for our missionary activities. We are not ready to completely give up and we are not ready to completely depend on the providence of God. But that is where the Grace of God works. But that seems not realistic, but our work is not in the realm of realistic but it’s in the divine realm. Let’s reflect: The more you can give up your earthly assurances, the more you can be sure of divine assistance in your mission of evangelization.
