Monday 30 January
Monday of week 4 in Ordinary Time First reading - Hebrews 11:32-40 “These are all heroes of faith”. The heroes of faith, how beautiful is the title. How did they achieve that? They achieved that by letting the promise of God enter their life. They let their life be completely guided by the plan of God. They did not run away when difficulties came. They managed to see the difficulties as part of their faith. They were weak but the faith gave them strength. They were ill-treated by the world, but their faith gave them strength to go to desert where they found the truth of faith. The heroes of faith are those who are with us in our way of faith since the walk in this path is not alone. We walk with the heroes of faith. “These are all heroes of faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had made provision for us to have something better, and they were not to reach perfection except with us”. Let’s reflect: Do you feel that in your walk of faith, you are walking with the heroes of faith?
Sunday 29 January
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading - Zephaniah 2:3,3:12-13 70ᵗʰ World Leprosy Day “In your midst I will leave a humble and lowly people, and those who are left in Israel will seek refuge in the name of the Lord”. In these words of the Prophet, Lord associates Himself with a group of people who are humble and lowly. He identifies Himself with that people. Because they seek refuse in the name of the Lord. They have only Lord as their refuge. They have nothing else other than the Lord. Those who have nothing else other than the Lord, they are special before the Lord. The Lord assumes them as His own. Our challenge is to be part of that group which the Lord assumes as His own. For that what we should do? The prophet answers: “seek integrity, seek humility”. Seeking the integrity is seeking the truth of the love of God. The truth of the love of God is that it’s all encompassing, it’s integral. And to assimilate that love of God, I must seek humility. In order to get the love of God, I must be humble. I must take out my pride so that the love of God can be take the place of my ego. Let’s reflect: Do I belong to those who seek refuge in the name of the Lord or not?
Saturday 28 January
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest, Doctor on Saturday of week 3 in Ordinary Time First reading - Hebrews 11:1-2,8-19 Faith is depicted as the motor of the life of Abraham and Sarah. Each aspect of their life is guided by faith beginning from their departure from their own country and living in the tents. They believed in the promises because of faith. “All these died in faith, before receiving any of the things that had been promised”. Here we see also an important element of faith. They believed in the promises, and they died without seeing the fulfilment of promises. Moreover, they were even put on test due to faith. “It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac”. We see these two elements of faith: they did not see the fulfilment of the promises and they were tested. So why do you believe? They believed because they identified themselves with the promises of God. Faith is identifying oneself with the plan of God. It is not something we have but it’s something we become. “They lived there in tents while he looked forward to a city founded, designed and built by God”. While living in the tents they identified themselves with the city founded, designed and built by God. While having only one son, they identified themselves with descendants as many as the stars of heaven or grains of sand. Abraham offered his son because he saw his son living. So, faith is not having something but leaving everything so that you have only the plan of God, you become the plan of God. Let’s reflect: Is my faith just a confidence or is it me becoming the plan of God?
Friday 27 January
Friday of week 3 in Ordinary Time or Saint Angela Merici, Virgin First reading - Hebrews 10:32-39 “For you not only shared in the sufferings of those who were in prison, but you happily accepted being stripped of your belongings, knowing that you owned something that was better and lasting”. This is the key to welcome all challenges and difficulties on our way of following Christ, the light of our life. That is why we read, “Remember all the sufferings that you had to meet after you received the light, in earlier days”. When we start following the light, we meet with challenges and difficulties. Not only inner difficulties but also public difficulties and challenges. “sometimes by being yourselves publicly exposed to insults and violence, and sometimes as associates of others who were treated in the same way”. Then the question is how do you face it? The Letter says that we can do it when we own something that is better and lasting. Owning something, being identified with something. This is not something but that is a person, the person of Jesus Christ. When we feel that we belong to Jesus Christ, we have His love and His love is better and last forever, we can face any difficulties in following Him. We accept the difficulties not ourselves alone, but together with Jesus Christ. And then even we go to a further level. We will try to share the sufferings of others, “not only shared in the sufferings of those were in prison”. The more I feel like being part of Jesus Christ, driven by Jesus Christ, the more happily I face difficulties and I share the difficulties of others. We don’t draw back or drown in it. We keep going with the light to be light for others. Let’s reflect: Do I feel that I belong to Jesus Christ when I face difficulties in my life?