Sunday 5 February
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time St Agatha First reading - Isaiah 58:7-10 “Share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor, clothe the man you see to be naked and do not turn from your own kin. Then will your light shine like the dawn”. It’s a very clear message of how to become the light of the world as the gospel today is announcing. Only one word is to underline. Share your bread with the hungry. The word is “your”. Here we are not speaking about giving bread to the hungry. This is about sharing. And it’s about sharing our bread. That means, “I eat less, and I give a share of what I should have eaten, to the one who is hungry”. There is a world of difference between giving food to the hungry and sharing my food with the hungry. You become light when you recognize the difference and share your bread with the hungry. Helping the poor is easy and fancy when it is not sharing our own bread and our own house. It becomes Christian when we share our bread. We become followers of Christ when we share from what we have. That is when our light shines like the dawn. Light of the dawn is something which comes out of the darkness. This act of sharing of our bread with the hungry is like that because it is something that comes from the darkness of our ego and selfishness. Let’s reflect: Am I sharing my bread with the hungry or am I just giving some bread with the hungry from what is surplus?
Saturday 4 February
Saturday of week 4 in Ordinary Time Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary First reading - Hebrews 13:15-17,20-21 The reading speaks about the sacrifices that please God. Jesus Christ offered the perfect sacrifice for us and through Christ we continue to offer unending sacrifice of praise by acknowledging His sacrifice. But this must be complemented by our own sacrifice after the model of Christ. What is that? “Keep doing good works and sharing your resources, for these are sacrifices that please God”. Doing good works and sharing our resources. The two dimensions which our sacrifices must have. It’s not enough we are doing good actions but also, we must be sharing our resources. Charity and Justice. Often, we find ourselves happy with good works and we abstain from sharing what we have. Again, the reading defines the good action. It is doing His will in any kind of good action. An action becomes a good action in faith only when it is done as His will. Good actions done as His will. I do this because God wants me to do this. Not because it’s just a good action. Again, why we must share? We share to transform ourselves to be acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. We share as Jesus shared Himself. Let’s reflect: Am I doing good works as the will of God, and do I share my resources as Jesus shared Himself?
Friday 3 February
Friday of week 4 in Ordinary Time Saint Blaise, Bishop, Martyr First reading - Hebrews 13:1-8 “Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be for ever”. In this sentence we can really know whom we can really trust in our life. The One who is always the same, that is Jesus Christ. All others around us, depends on their mood, changes, transforms, adapts to the situations and changes. But the one is above all changes and remains the same is Jesus Christ. That is why we must create a stable and permanent relationship with Jesus Christ because He is always the same and eternal. More than that, He says, “I will not fail you or desert you”. How consoling is that! The only One who does not fail or desert us, Jesus Christ And so we can say with confidence together with the author of the book of Hebrews, “With the Lord to help me, I fear nothing: what can man do to me?”. This is where we anchor our faith, in Jesus Christ. Let’s reflect: How much I am aware that Jesus Christ is the only One who is stable and eternal?
Thursday 2 February
The Presentation of the Lord - Feast First reading - Malachi 3:1-4 World Day for Consecrated Life “Who will be able to resist the day of his coming?” No one can resist the call of God. The one who listens to His call, will just surrender his or her life to Him. He enters his or her life and transforms it completely. “For he is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will take his seat as refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver,”. When we let the grace of God in work in us, it will be like the fire of the refiner. When we let our life be identified with the plan of God, He will refine us and purify us. The work of God in us will bring out the best in us. The listening to the call of God and giving our life to God completely will bring the best in us. What is best in our life other than the plan of God being realized in us! Then we become the best offerings… “then they will make the offering to the Lord as it should be made”. So, the question is how much after hearing the call of God, we let God refine us and purify us. It happens every time we give up our plan to accept the plan of God. Let’s reflect: Am I letting God to bring out the best in me?