Sunday 1 October
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873 - 1897) First reading - Ezekiel 18:25-28 “When the sinner renounces sin to become law-abiding and honest, he deserves to live. He has chosen to renounce all his previous sins; he shall certainly live; he shall not die”. Repentance heals our lives. Repentance is renouncing sin to become law-abiding and honest. We renounce sin to abide to the law of love towards God and neighbour. We move from selfish love to selfless love. We renounce our ego to embrace the other without selfish motives. This is repentance. Then we can be honest too. Often, we cannot be honest, because we have our selfish interests in loving God and loving others. So, when we renounce our selfish interest, we can be honest. This honestly is primarily an honesty towards oneself. This honesty clears the path of grace which was previously blocked by us. Therefore, following the law of selfless love and by being honest, we have the life to live. Let’s reflect: Am I ready to renounce my selfish interests to become honest towards myselfe and towards others?
Saturday 30 September
Saint Jerome, Priest, Doctor Saturday of week 25 in Ordinary Time First reading - 2 Timothy 3:14-17 As we celebrate the Feast of St. Jerome, the reading helps us to understand the importance of Scriptures in our life. “All scripture is inspired by God and can profitably be used for teaching, for refuting error, for guiding people’s lives and teaching them to be holy. This is how the man who is dedicated to God becomes fully equipped and ready for any good work”. It’s vital to be close to the Word of God because it contains the inspiration of God Himself. The Word of God teaches what we must know in our relationships. The Word of God helps us to refute the errors of selfishness. The Word of God guides our lives. The Word of God instructs us to be holy. So, the more we are close to the Word of God, the more we learn. This is the way to prepare ourselves for our mission. By being close to the Word of God, we equip ourselves fully and prepare for any good work. In other words, for any good work we need the support of the Word of God. Let’s reflect: Do I equip myself with the Word of God or am I concerned about other preparations?
Friday 29 September
Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels - Feast First reading - Daniel 7:9-10,13-14 Today we celebrate the feasts of Archangels. “I gazed into the visions of the night”. Angels are the answers to the darkness of the night. They present the presence of God in His majesty. The sovereignty glory and kingship of the son of man is really presented by the Archangels in different situations in the salvation history. This presence of God is close to all peoples, nations, and languages. As the sovereignty is eternal, the presence of the angels also is for always. Whenever we have a need for the presence of God, then that presence is made effective by these angels. The divine intervention or providence in our daily affairs are acts of these angels. Today is the day to thank them, to entrust ourselves more to their protection. Let’s reflect: Do I thank the Archangels for their presence in my life?
Thursday 28 September
Thursday of week 25 in Ordinary Time Saint Wenceslaus, Martyr Saints Laurence Ruiz and his Companions, Martyrs First reading - Haggai 1:1-8 · “Is this a time for you to live in your panelled houses, when this House lies in ruins”? This passage shows how much it is important to take care of the house of the Lord before we take care of ourselves. If we are not taking care of the house of the Lord, our own efforts will be useless. It will be like the wage earner who gets his wages and puts them in a purse riddled with holes. Due importance is to be given to the matters of the Lord so that we can duly take care of ourselves. Only when we give due importance to our Creator, we can duly take care of ourselves as creatures. Often, we find lame excuses to avoid doing service to the Lord because we are taking care of ourselves. But that will not help. We will be sowing a lot but we will only harvest little. First rebuild the house of the Lord and our life should be organized around the house of the Lord. Let’s reflect: Am I giving due importance to the matters of our Lord than my own matters?