Archive for the ‘Personal Thoughts & Reflections’ Category

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 27, 2020 by CatholicJules in Life's Journeys, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Our hour has not yet come. That very hour in which we prepare ourselves to finally meet our creator. What have we to show for ourselves? Had we lived a life in the light of our Lord and saviour’s resurrection? Have we embraced our cross to follow Him? Have we united our sufferings with His for the redemption of the world? Have we cared for the least of our brethren?

Or have we instead embroiled ourselves with the workings, cares, calculations, schemings of the world. Only interested in what’s in it for me, myself, I and maybe a little for those we deem family. Survival of the fittest! Afterall we live in a dog eat dog World! Are we then surprised at all at the panic buying? Every mask for oneself? Why do people need so much toilet paper? Well isn’t it obvious that these people live out of their toilets? All their self centred problems and woes are easily and quickly flushed away together with their precious toilet paper. ( those with a genuine need for that many not included*grins*)

Let us be grateful our hour has not yet come, let us turn our hearts to our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ who has redeemed us. So that we can live out Holy loving lives as we are called to do. Amen

First reading

Wisdom 2:1,12-22
Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man and condemn him to a shameful death

The godless say to themselves, with their misguided reasoning:

‘Our life is short and dreary, nor is there any relief when man’s end comes, nor is anyone known who can give release from Hades.
Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life, reproaches us for our breaches of the law and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing.
He claims to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a son of the Lord.
Before us he stands, a reproof to our way of thinking, the very sight of him weighs our spirits down;
his way of life is not like other men’s,
the paths he treads are unfamiliar.
In his opinion we are counterfeit;
he holds aloof from our doings as though from filth; he proclaims the final end of the virtuous as Happy and boasts of having God for his father.
Let us see if what he says is true,
let us observe what kind of end he himself will have.
If the virtuous man is God’s son, God will take his part and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies.
Let us test him with cruelty and with torture, and thus explore this gentleness of his
and put his endurance to the proof.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death
since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.’

This is the way they reason, but they are misled, their malice makes them blind.
They do not know the hidden things of God,
they have no hope that holiness will be rewarded, they can see no reward for blameless souls.

Gospel

John 7:1-2,10,25-30
They would have arrested him, but his time had not yet come

Jesus stayed in Galilee; he could not stay in Judaea, because the Jews were out to kill him.
As the Jewish feast of Tabernacles drew near, after his brothers had left for the festival, he went up as well, but quite privately, without drawing attention to himself. Meanwhile some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, ‘Isn’t this the man they want to kill? And here he is, speaking freely, and they have nothing to say to him! Can it be true the authorities have made up their minds that he is the Christ? Yet we all know where he comes from, but when the Christ appears no one will know where he comes from.’
Then, as Jesus taught in the Temple, he cried out:

‘Yes, you know me
and you know where I came from.
Yet I have not come of myself:
no, there is one who sent me
and I really come from him,
and you do not know him,
but I know him because I have come from him and it was he who sent me.’

They would have arrested him then, but because his time had not yet come no one laid a hand on him.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 26, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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With all that is going on in the world, the lock downs, the closures, the social distancing, where is the Lord our God? Has He left us to our own device? And so have we turned to our own ‘golden calfs’? Television, movies, pornography, games, alcohol, anything and everything else that would take our minds off the darkness of life. How different are we from the people in the time of Moses? Or have we become like the Pharisees and scribes? Concerned only with judging others, the system, the governance and everything else instead of turning out hearts to God? Instead of listening intently to His prophets, most importantly to God’s Will for us through His only Begotten Son Jesus!In truth our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ has never left! He is very much with us yesterday, today and tomorrow. It is us who have initiated our very own lock downs, we have closed our hearts to Him, we have distanced ourselves from Him! In His great mercy and love for us, He will never abandon us. In actual fact He wants us to discover the many new and varied ways He is present to us. Have we been listening to His promptings through His shepherds or have we shut our ears to them? Thinking they have let us down in some way?Let us stay awake and alert my dearest sisters and brothers in Christ. Let the love and grace of our Lord fill our hearts as we seek Him out in new ways. Amen

First reading

Exodus 32:7-14 ·
Moses pleads with the Lord his God to spare IsraelThe Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go down now, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have apostatised. They have been quick to leave the way I marked out for them; they have made themselves a calf of molten metal and have worshipped it and offered it sacrifice. “Here is your God, Israel,” they have cried “who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”’ the Lord said to Moses, ‘I can see how headstrong these people are! Leave me, now, my wrath shall blaze out against them and devour them; of you, however, I will make a great nation.’
But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘why should your wrath blaze out against this people of yours whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with arm outstretched and mighty hand? Why let the Egyptians say, “Ah, it was in treachery that he brought them out, to do them to death in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth”? Leave your burning wrath; relent and do not bring this disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, your servants to whom by your own self you swore and made this promise: I will make your offspring as many as the stars of heaven, and all this land which I promised I will give to your descendants, and it shall be their heritage for ever.’
So the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

Gospel

John 5:31-47
You place your hopes on Moses but Moses will be your accuserJesus said to the Jews:‘Were I to testify on my own behalf,
my testimony would not be valid; but there is another witness who can speak on my behalf, and I know that his testimony is valid.You sent messengers to John, and he gave his testimony to the truth: not that I depend on human testimony; no, it is for your salvation that I speak of this. John was a lamp alight and shining and for a time you were content to enjoy the light that he gave.But my testimony is greater than John’s:
the works my Father has given me to carry out, these same works of mine testify that the Father has sent me. Besides, the Father who sent me bears witness to me himself.
You have never heard his voice, you have never seen his shape, and his word finds no home in You because you do not believe in the one he has sent.‘You study the Scriptures, believing that in them you have eternal life; now these same scriptures testify to me, and yet you refuse to come to me for life!
As for human approval, this means nothing to me. Besides, I know you too well: you have no love of God in you.I have come in the name of my Father
and you refuse to accept me; if someone else comes in his own name you will accept him.
How can you believe, since you look to one another for approval and are not concerned with the approval that comes from the one God?Do not imagine that I am going to accuse you before the Father: you place your hopes on Moses, and Moses will be your accuser.
If you really believed him you would believe me too, since it was I that he was writing about; but if you refuse to believe what he wrote, how can you believe what I say?’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 25, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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In loving obedience I offer up my life to You, O Lord.Just as our Blessed mother Mary lovingly did from her birth. Through her fiat the light of the world was conceived, God’s grace and presence filled the earth; through God our Father’s only Begotten Son, our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Through Him we are redeemed, through Him we are made Holy.And it all began with Jesus’s loving obedience to God our Heavenly Father. From the moment of His birth, throughout His life and at the culmination of His death it was always “Not my will, but yours be done.”There is nothing I own nor anything I possess that did not come from You O Lord. And so the only thing I can offer You Lord is the gift of my free Will.In loving obedience I offer up my life to You, O Lord. Amen

First reading

Isaiah 7:10-14,8:10 ·
The maiden is with childThe Lord spoke to Ahaz and said, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign for yourself coming either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above.’ ‘No,’ Ahaz answered ‘I will not put the Lord to the test.’
Then Isaiah said:‘Listen now, House of David:
are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men without trying the patience of my God, too? The Lord himself, therefore, will give you a sign. It is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son
whom she will call Immanuel,
a name which means “God-is-with-us.”’

Second reading

Hebrews 10:4-10 ·
God’s will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.Bulls’ blood and goats’ blood are useless for taking away sins, and this is what Christ said, on coming into the world:You who wanted no sacrifice or oblation,
prepared a body for me.
You took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sin; then I said, just as I was commanded in the scroll of the book, ‘God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.’Notice that he says first: You did not want what the Law lays down as the things to be offered, that is: the sacrifices, the oblations, the holocausts and the sacrifices for sin, and you took no pleasure in them; and then he says: Here I am! I am coming to obey your will. He is abolishing the first sort to replace it with the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.

Gospel

Luke 1:26-38
‘I am the handmaid of the Lord’The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her, ‘Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.’ She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ And the angel left her.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 24, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Jesus is our lifespring and He bestows life giving water!

In our desert journey towards Easter, He is our hope and water source. Even if it should get more arid for lack of a place to gather in His name. He fills our hearts with His peace, love and joy. For He will not withhold His grace for our well being.

In an atmosphere of fear that no one is coming to help us and that we should die in our illness. Jesus has come to heal and restore, we only need to cry out to Him in response as He extends His loving hand to help us up.

How is it others will surely ask, that no matter how gloomy life gets; you Christians seems to teem with life? And we shall tell them…..

Jesus is our lifespring and He bestows life giving water! Amen

First reading

Ezekiel 47:1-9,12 ·
Wherever the water flows, it will bring life and health

The angel brought me to the entrance of the Temple, where a stream came out from under the Temple threshold and flowed eastwards, since the Temple faced east. The water flowed from under the right side of the Temple, south of the altar. He took me out by the north gate and led me right round outside as far as the outer east gate where the water flowed out on the right-hand side. The man went to the east holding his measuring line and measured off a thousand cubits; he then made me wade across the stream; the water reached my ankles. He measured off another thousand and made me wade across the stream again; the water reached my knees. He measured off another thousand and made me wade across again; the water reached my waist. He measured off another thousand; it was now a river which I could not cross; the stream had swollen and was now deep water, a river impossible to cross. He then said, ‘Do you see, son of man?’ He took me further, then brought me back to the bank of the river. When I got back, there were many trees on each bank of the river. He said, ‘This water flows east down to the Arabah and to the sea; and flowing into the sea it makes its waters wholesome. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will live. Fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the water goes it brings health, and life teems wherever the river flows. Along the river, on either bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; they will bear new fruit every month, because this water comes from the sanctuary. And their fruit will be good to eat and the leaves medicinal.’

Gospel

John 5:1-3,5-16
The healing at the pool of Bethesda

There was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now at the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem there is a building, called Bethzatha in Hebrew, consisting of five porticos; and under these were crowds of sick people – blind, lame, paralysed – waiting for the water to move. One man there had an illness which had lasted thirty-eight years, and when Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had been in this condition for a long time, he said, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ ‘Sir,’ replied the sick man ‘I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone else gets there before me.’ Jesus said, ‘Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk.’ The man was cured at once, and he picked up his mat and walked away.
Now that day happened to be the sabbath, so the Jews said to the man who had been cured, ‘It is the sabbath; you are not allowed to carry your sleeping-mat.’ He replied, ‘But the man who cured me told me, “Pick up your mat and walk.”’ They asked, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Pick up your mat and walk”?’ The man had no idea who it was, since Jesus had disappeared into the crowd that filled the place. After a while Jesus met him in the Temple and said, ‘Now you are well again, be sure not to sin any more, or something worse may happen to you.’ The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. It was because he did things like this on the sabbath that the Jews began to persecute Jesus.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 23, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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‘So you will not believe unless you see signs and portents!’

Has our hearts changed? What are we waiting for? Retreat after retreat receiving His grace urging on to grow in our faith yet refusing to carry our cross to follow Him! Refusing to move ahead in our mission to bear fruit for Him by serving our brethren. Are we not grateful for the many blessings He has showered upon us, or families, our communities? Do we only turn to Him in our hour of need?

By our Lord’s life, death and Resurrection, He has indeed created new heavens and a new earth. So that we might live fully in His love, His peace and joy! We must therefore choose and strive, to live in holiness and in His light. Leaving our past and the darkness behind forever. Let us not tarry any longer but choose to believe in Him, our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him, give thanks to His holy name. Amen

Lord Jesus our world as we have known it, is dying. In Your most precious name we believe, heal, restore and renew the face of the earth we call home. Amen

First reading

Isaiah 65:17-21 ·
Be glad and rejoice for ever at what I am creating

Thus says the Lord: Now I create new heavens and a new earth, and the past will not be remembered, and will come no more to men’s minds. Be glad and rejoice for ever and ever for what I am creating, because I now create Jerusalem ‘Joy’ and her people ‘Gladness.’ I shall rejoice over Jerusalem and exult in my people. No more will the sound of weeping or the sound of cries be heard in her; in her, no more will be found the infant living a few days only, or the old man not living to the end of his days. To die at the age of a hundred will be dying young; not to live to be a hundred will be the sign of a curse. They will build houses and inhabit them, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

Gospel

John 4:43-54
Go home: your son will live

Jesus left Samaria for Galilee. He himself had declared that there is no respect for a prophet in his own country, but on his arrival the Galileans received him well, having seen all that he had done at Jerusalem during the festival which they too had attended.
He went again to Cana in Galilee, where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a court official there whose son was ill at Capernaum and, hearing that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judaea, he went and asked him to come and cure his son as he was at the point of death. Jesus said, ‘So you will not believe unless you see signs and portents!’ ‘Sir,’ answered the official ‘come down before my child dies.’ ‘Go home,’ said Jesus ‘your son will live.’ The man believed what Jesus had said and started on his way; and while he was still on the journey back his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive. He asked them when the boy had begun to recover. ‘The fever left him yesterday’ they said ‘at the seventh hour.’ The father realised that this was exactly the time when Jesus had said, ‘Your son will live’; and he and all his household believed.
This was the second sign given by Jesus, on his return from Judaea to Galilee.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 21, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Do we know about Jesus or do we know Jesus? For to know all about someone is vastly different from having a deep personal relationship with him or her. To know their likes and dislikes, to share in their joys and in their sorrows. To be present in good times and in bad. To offer up the best of ourselves for the good of the other. This is the sort of loving, intimate relationship our Lord Jesus desires to have with us. And so we should fear and love Him with all our heart. Fear not as in being afraid of but rather of offending Him, of losing our relationship with Him through our unfaithfulness.

How then will our own prayer to the Lord our God be? One that comes from a superficial relationship of trying to impress Him by our religiousness? False piety?
Or will our prayer be that from the heart of having a deep personal relationship with our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Of knowing that we are deeply and uniquely loved even in our shortcomings and imperfections. And that it is only through Christ our Lord we are perfected. And so we strive to live faithfully in His love for ourselves, our families and for the communities we serve in for His glory.

Grant my desire to deepen my relationship with You Lord, that I may grow to be more and more like You each and every day. Amen

First reading

Hosea 5:15-6:6 ·
What I want is love, not sacrifice and holocausts

The Lord says this:

They will search for me in their misery.
‘Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us; he has struck us down, but he will bandage our wounds; after a day or two he will bring us back to life, on the third day he will raise us and we shall live in his presence.
Let us set ourselves to know the Lord; that he will come is as certain as the dawn his judgement will rise like the light, he will come to us as showers come, like spring rains watering the earth.’

What am I to do with you, Ephraim?
What am I to do with you, Judah?
This love of yours is like a morning cloud, like the dew that quickly disappears. This is why I have torn them to pieces by the prophets, why I slaughtered them with the words from my mouth, since what I want is love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts.

Gospel

Luke 18:9-14
The tax collector, not the Pharisee, went home justified.

Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: ‘Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, “I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.” The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 20, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We live in trying times and holding on to our faith is a struggle especially when we no longer have access to the sacraments our Lord provided for us or a place to gather and worship. Fear has gripped our hearts and so communities that once provided stability; and was a source of strength have disbanded.

The Lord speaks to our hearts today reminding us that He is near to us and has never left. He is in charge and we have nothing to fear. He will lift all curses, scourges and take away all our iniquities and sins. All we need do is turn our hearts to Him and remain faithful in our prayers, attentive listening to His Word and Will for us; and to continue to love one another us as He loves us.

In today’s context loving our neighbour includes amongst other things; being socially responsible, not giving in to panic and adopting a ‘my family’ against the world mentality or its a survival of the fittest one. We should never forget that loving the least of our brethren is what gives us hope for an eternal future with the Lord our God.

O Blessed Mother, pray for me. That I remain pure and true and that all that I say and do may be pleasing to Your Son Jesus my Lord. Amen

First reading

Hosea 14:2-10
A call to conversion and promise of safety

The Lord says this:

Israel, come back to the Lord your God; your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with words
and come back to the Lord.
Say to him, ‘Take all iniquity away so that we may have happiness again and offer you our words of praise.
Assyria cannot save us, we will not ride horses any more, or say, “Our God!” to what our own hands have made, for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.’
– I will heal their disloyalty,
I will love them with all my heart, for my anger has turned from them.
I will fall like dew on Israel.
He shall bloom like the lily,
and thrust out roots like the poplar, his shoots will spread far; he will have the beauty of the olive and the fragrance of Lebanon.
They will come back to live in my shade; they will grow corn that flourishes, they will cultivate vines as renowned as the wine of Helbon.
What has Ephraim to do with idols any more when it is I who hear his prayer and care for him? I am like a cypress ever green, all your fruitfulness comes from me.

Let the wise man understand these words.
Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning.
For the ways of the Lord are straight, and virtuous men walk in them, but sinners stumble.

Gospel

Mark 12:28-34
‘You are not far from the kingdom of God’

One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him any more.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 20, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We live in trying times and holding on to our faith is a struggle especially when we no longer have access to the sacraments our Lord provided for us or a place to gather and worship. Fear has gripped our hearts and so communities that once provided stability; and was a source of strength have disbanded.

The Lord speaks to our hearts today reminding us that He is near to us and has never left. He is in charge and we have nothing to fear. He will lift all curses, scourges and take away all our iniquities and sins. All we need do is turn our hearts to Him and remain faithful in our prayers, attentive listening to His Word and Will for us; and to continue to love one another us as He loves us.

In today’s context loving our neighbour includes amongst other things; being socially responsible, not giving in to panic and adopting a ‘my family’ against the world mentality or its a survival of the fittest one. We should never forget that loving the least of our brethren is what gives us hope for an eternal future with the Lord our God.

O Blessed Mother, pray for me. That I remain pure and true and that all that I say and do may be pleasing to Your Son Jesus my Lord. Amen

First reading

Hosea 14:2-10
A call to conversion and promise of safety

The Lord says this:

Israel, come back to the Lord your God; your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with words
and come back to the Lord.
Say to him, ‘Take all iniquity away so that we may have happiness again and offer you our words of praise.
Assyria cannot save us, we will not ride horses any more, or say, “Our God!” to what our own hands have made, for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.’
– I will heal their disloyalty,
I will love them with all my heart, for my anger has turned from them.
I will fall like dew on Israel.
He shall bloom like the lily,
and thrust out roots like the poplar, his shoots will spread far; he will have the beauty of the olive and the fragrance of Lebanon.
They will come back to live in my shade; they will grow corn that flourishes, they will cultivate vines as renowned as the wine of Helbon.
What has Ephraim to do with idols any more when it is I who hear his prayer and care for him? I am like a cypress ever green, all your fruitfulness comes from me.

Let the wise man understand these words.
Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning.
For the ways of the Lord are straight, and virtuous men walk in them, but sinners stumble.

Gospel

Mark 12:28-34
‘You are not far from the kingdom of God’

One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him any more.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 19, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Through faith, hope and trust in the Lord our God, father Abraham became Father of many nations as many as the stars.

Through faith, hope and trust in the Lord our God, St Joseph of the line of David fulfilled God’s promise and became father of Jesus, Lord of lords, King of kings, the salvation of the world.

Amidst all trials and challenges I too must have faith, hope and trust in the Lord our God. For through Jesus Christ my Lord and God I have a share in the heavenly inheritance.

O St Joseph pure and chaste spouse of our Blessed Mother Mary, father of Jesus, pray for me. That I may have your purity of heart, your attentive ear to hear the will of God, strength in faith and your zeal for a virtuous life in the Lord our God. Amen

First reading

2 Samuel 7:4-5,12-14,16 ·
The Lord will give him the throne of his ancestor David

The word of the Lord came to Nathan:
‘Go and tell my servant David, Thus the Lord speaks: “When your days are ended and you are laid to rest with your ancestors, I will preserve the offspring of your body after you and make his sovereignty secure. (It is he who shall build a house for my became, and I will make his royal throne secure for ever.) I will be a father to him and he a son to me; if he does evil, I will punish him with the rod such as men use, with strokes such as mankind gives. Yet I will not withdraw my favour from him, as I withdrew it from your predecessor. Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne be established for ever.”’

Second reading

Romans 4:13,16-18,22 ·
Abraham hoped, and he believed

The promise of inheriting the world was not made to Abraham and his descendants on account of any law but on account of the righteousness which consists in faith. That is why what fulfils the promise depends on faith, so that it may be a free gift and be available to all of Abraham’s descendants, not only those who belong to the Law but also those who belong to the faith of Abraham who is the father of all of us. As scripture says: I have made you the ancestor of many nations – Abraham is our father in the eyes of God, in whom he put his faith, and who brings the dead to life and calls into being what does not exist.
Though it seemed Abraham’s hope could not be fulfilled, he hoped and he believed, and through doing so he did become the father of many nations exactly as he had been promised: Your descendants will be as many as the stars. This is the faith that was ‘considered as justifying him.’

Gospel

Matthew 1:16,18-21,24
How Jesus Christ came to be born

Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 18, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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What is the purpose of having laws and why should we obey them? Have we not heard the saying, laws are meant to be broken? Or there are always loopholes in the law we can exploit? What happens then when people disobey or break the law? Simply society as we know it, is plunged into disarray and chaos! How about if just one person breaks it? There are consequences, repercussions and effects that will kick in even though the crime may be or thought to be small. For instance, running a red light because of an important appointment someone knocks down a pregnant woman. The woman survives but loses the child. How many lives are affected? How do we know the child would not have grown up to be a leading scientist that would discover a cure for a dreaded disease in which millions of lives might have been saved?

How precious then is it to know God’s laws and obey them? For what great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? Our peace, love and joy lie in the heart of our love and relationship with the Lord our God. Breaking God’s laws not only plunges us into a world of darkness, we sever our deep and meaningful relationship with Him. Our sin not only affects us but our family and community in ways we might not even be aware of.

So then if we declare that we love our children dearly and want what is best for them. How can we not teach them to love God and observe all His commandments as best best can? How can we say let them discover the Lord on their own? Or there is lots time for that, they need to be academically sound first. Are we guiding them towards heaven or robbing them of it?

First reading

Deuteronomy 4:1,5-9
Keep these laws and observe them

Moses said to the people:
‘Now, Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you.
‘See, as the Lord my God has commanded me, I teach you the laws and customs that you are to observe in the land you are to enter and make your own. Keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding. When they come to know of all these laws they will exclaim, “No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation.” And indeed, what great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? And what great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this whole Law that I put before you today?
‘But take care what you do and be on your guard. Do not forget the things your eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart all the days of your life; rather, tell them to your children and to your children’s children.’

Lord Jesus complete the law written in my heart, that I may always be faithful and loving in carrying out Your will. Amen

Gospel

Matthew 5:17-19
I have not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to complete them

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 17, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Can a humbled Spirit be unforgiving? I will never forgive him for how he treated me and what he has done! Or she hurt me physically and emotionally, may she rot in hell! Are these words uttered by a humbled spirit?

Perhaps we should reflect a little on what is a humbled Spirit. It is most definitely Not a Spirit beaten into submission. Neither is it one of surrender, of hopelessness, of defeat. It is in fact one born of choice, of free will. Choosing perfect contrition for my own sins against my loving Lord and God before even looking upon the sins of others. Seeking His mercy, love and grace. Knowing that on my own I cannot love perfectly without reservation. On my own it is difficult to forgive the hurt and pain in my heart. But by the victory won for me by the cross in which my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ hung, I am set free! Free from sin, free from the shackles of unforgiveness. I am free to live in the light of His Resurrection. Free to be merciful and loving as my Lord is. It is my humbled spirit before God.

I offer You today Lord, my contrite soul and humbled spirit. Your will be done. Amen

First reading

Daniel 3:25,34-43

Azariah stood in the heart of the fire, and he began to pray:

Oh! Do not abandon us for ever, for the sake of your name;
do not repudiate your covenant,
do not withdraw your favour from us,
for the sake of Abraham, your friend, of Isaac your servant, and of Israel your holy one, to whom you promised descendants as countless as the stars of heaven and as the grains of sand on the seashore.
Lord, now we are the least of all the nations,
now we are despised throughout the world, today, because of our sins.
We have at this time no leader, no prophet, no Prince, no holocaust, no sacrifice, no oblation, no incense, no place where we can offer you the first-fruits and win your favour.
But may the contrite soul, the humbled spirit be as acceptable to you as holocausts of rams and bullocks, as thousands of fattened lambs: such let our sacrifice be to you today, and may it be your will that we follow you wholeheartedly, since those who put their trust in you will not be disappointed.
And now we put our whole heart into following you, into fearing you and seeking your face once more.
Do not disappoint us; treat us gently, as you yourself are gentle and very merciful.
Grant us deliverance worthy of your wonderful deeds, let your name win glory, Lord.

Gospel

Matthew 18:21-35
To be forgiven, you must forgive

Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.
‘And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. “Give me time” he said “and I will pay the whole sum.” And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. “Pay what you owe me” he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, “Give me time and I will pay you.” But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for him. “You wicked servant,” he said “I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?” And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 16, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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What good is it to be loved and respected if we allow pride, self importance our self regard of knowledge, wisdom and experience; to blind us to the ways and Will of God? Being Catholic in name does not bring us any closer to salvation if we do not humble ourselves before our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, carry our cross and follow Him. Are we then surprised when our ‘faithfulness’ does nothing to enrich the lives of our family, community and all those around us? Shall we continue to live jaded superficial lives?

This morning at about 5:55am I saw an old man standing in a crowded train. He looked tired and could surely use a seat. But when the person seating in front of him got up to get off at the station, he looked around first with gentle humble eyes as if to say if you don’t mind I’ll sit down unless of course you want the seat? And I’m quite sure he would have gladly given up the seat. His humility and tender way, pierced my soul! It does not matter to me which faith background he comes from, all I know is that I saw the face of Jesus in him through this little gesture.

Keep me humble sweet Jesus and bless the soul of that old man. Amen

First reading

2 Kings 5:1-15 ·
There were many lepers in Israel, but only Naaman, the Syrian, was cured

Naaman, army commander to the king of Aram, was a man who enjoyed his master’s respect and favour, since through him the Lord had granted victory to the Aramaeans. But the man was a leper.
Now on one of their raids, the Aramaeans had carried off from the land of Israel a little girl who had become a servant of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my master would approach the prophet of Samaria. He would cure him of his leprosy.’
Naaman went and told his master. ‘This and this’ he reported ‘is what the girl from the land of Israel said.’
‘Go by all means,’ said the king of Aram ‘I will send a letter to the king of Israel.’
So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten festal robes. He presented the letter to the king of Israel. It read: ‘With this letter, I am sending my servant Naaman to you for you to cure him of his leprosy.’ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his garments. ‘Am I a god to give death and life,’ he said ‘that he sends a man to me and asks me to cure him of his leprosy? Listen to this, and take note of it and see how he intends to pick a quarrel with me.’
When Elisha heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king, ‘Why did you tear your garments? Let him come to me, and he will find there is a prophet in Israel.’
So Naaman came with his team and chariot and drew up at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent him a messenger to say, ‘Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will become clean once more.’
But Naaman was indignant and went off, saying, ‘Here was I thinking he would be sure to come out to me, and stand there, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the spot and cure the leprous part. Surely Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, are better than any water in Israel? Could I not bathe in them and become clean?’ And he turned round and went off in a rage.
But his servants approached him and said, ‘My father, if the prophet had asked you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? All the more reason, then, when he says to you, “Bathe, and you will become clean.”’
So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child.
Returning to Elisha with his whole escort, he went in and stood before him. ‘Now I know’ he said ‘that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.’

Gospel

Luke 4:24-30
No prophet is ever accepted in his own country

Jesus came to Nazara and spoke to the people in the synagogue: ‘I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.
‘There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah’s day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town. And in the prophet Elisha’s time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.’
When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 14, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Oh how I have taken Your love for me for granted, have mercy Lord!

From the moment I awake You have blessed me yet how do I return your great love? By choosing to live my life my way! Seeking personal comforts and pleasures.

Oh how I have taken Your love for me for granted, have mercy Lord!

You are always at my side even when I was sinning, A tiny light in the darkness showing me the way back into Your loving embrace.

Oh how I have taken Your love for me for granted, have mercy Lord!

How foolish I was to be jealous of Your love for my brethren. For You have loved us all deeply and uniquely. You have no favourites!

Oh how I have taken Your love for me for granted, have mercy Lord!

How deep is Your love for us, that You the Son of God our Heavenly Father would reveal Your Father’s love for us in a story that gives us hope and one that we can embrace for all time. Let me never take the love of my God for granted.

Oh how I have taken Your love for me for granted, have mercy Lord! Amen

First reading

Micah 7:14-15,18-20 ·
Have pity on us one more time

With shepherd’s crook, O Lord, lead your people to pasture,
the flock that is your heritage,
living confined in a forest
with meadow land all around.
Let them pasture in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old.
As in the days when you came out of Egypt grant us to see wonders.

What god can compare with you: taking fault away,
pardoning crime, not cherishing anger for ever
but delighting in showing mercy?
Once more have pity on us,
tread down our faults, to the bottom of the sea throw all our sins.
Grant Jacob your faithfulness,
and Abraham your mercy,
as you swore to our fathers
from the days of long ago.

Gospel

Luke 15:1-3,11-32
The prodigal son

The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:
‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.
‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.
‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”
‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 13, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Truth be told many feel threatened when someone new not necessarily young or younger, comes along proposing changes that will or might affect their very set way of life. Be it work life or church life. The old guards will do or say just about anything to defend the status quo. Oh it’s been tried and tested! That will never work for us! How qualified are you? What training have you had? Who are you to teach or change us? We have been doing this while you were still in diapers! You are a better fit elsewhere! Funny how many of them will not take on leadership itself but are quick to be Indian chiefs critical of any new leadership. It does not matter whether or not the person was appointed by the top management or was God’s own chosen!

Some may say, no I will never be part of such plotting and scheming to get rid of the person, but engage in gossip which is character assassination plain and simple. Can we then declare to others that we have a deep and meaningful relationship with the Lord our God?

In today’s first reading was it simply that Israel loved his youngest more than the rest? Or was it coupled by the fact that the seventeen year old shared his vision from God that they will all be subject to his leaderhip? Just two days ago we heard how the rest of the disciples became indignant towards the sons of Zebedee for their want of status in Jesus’s kingdom. Let us recall what Jesus said to them, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

Jesus my Lord, You gave Your life to save me from the indignity of sin and death. Guard my heart against all malice and evil. Let me serve You and my dearest brethren in humble servitude. Amen

First reading

Genesis 37:3-4,12-13,17-28 ·
Let us kill him: then we shall see what becomes of his dreams

Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, for he was the son of his old age, and he had a coat with long sleeves made for him. But his brothers, seeing how his father loved him more than all his other sons, came to hate him so much that they could not say a civil word to him.
His brothers went to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem. Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers with the flock at Shechem? Come, I am going to send you to them.’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
They saw him in the distance, and before he reached them they made a plot among themselves to put him to death. ‘Here comes the man of dreams’ they said to one another. ‘Come on, let us kill him and throw him into some well; we can say that a wild beast devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams.’
But Reuben heard, and he saved him from their violence. ‘We must not take his life’ he said. ‘Shed no blood,’ said Reuben to them ‘throw him into this well in the wilderness, but do not lay violent hands on him’ – intending to save him from them and to restore him to his father. So, when Joseph reached his brothers, they pulled off his coat, the coat with long sleeves that he was wearing, and catching hold of him they threw him into the well, an empty well with no water in it. They then sat down to eat.
Looking up they saw a group of Ishmaelites who were coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, tragacanth, balsam and resin, which they were taking down into Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let us not do any harm to him. After all, he is our brother, and our own flesh.’ His brothers agreed.
Now some Midianite merchants were passing, and they drew Joseph up out of the well. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver pieces, and these men took Joseph to Egypt.

Gospel

Matthew 21:33-43,45-46
This is the landlord’s heir: come, let us kill him

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:

It was the stone rejected by the builders
that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?

‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’
When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 13, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Truth be told many feel threatened when someone new not necessarily young or younger, comes along proposing changes that will or might affect their very set way of life. Be it work life or church life. The old guards will do or say just about anything to defend the status quo. Oh it’s been tried and tested! That will never work for us! How qualified are you? What training have you had? Who are you to teach or change us? We have been doing this while you were still in diapers! You are a better fit elsewhere! Funny how many of them will not take on leadership itself but are quick to be Indian chiefs critical of any new leadership. It does not matter whether or not the person was appointed by the top management or was God’s own chosen!

Some may say, no I will never be part of such plotting and scheming to get rid of the person, but engage in gossip which is character assassination plain and simple. Can we then declare to others that we have a deep and meaningful relationship with the Lord our God?

In today’s first reading was it simply that Israel loved his youngest more than the rest? Or was it coupled by the fact that the seventeen year old shared his vision from God that they will all be subject to his leaderhip? Just two days ago we heard how the rest of the disciples became indignant towards the sons of Zebedee for their want of status in Jesus’s kingdom. Let us recall what Jesus said to them, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

Jesus my Lord, You gave Your life to save me from the indignity of sin and death. Guard my heart against all malice and evil. Let me serve You and my dearest brethren in humble servitude. Amen

First reading

Genesis 37:3-4,12-13,17-28 ·
Let us kill him: then we shall see what becomes of his dreams

Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, for he was the son of his old age, and he had a coat with long sleeves made for him. But his brothers, seeing how his father loved him more than all his other sons, came to hate him so much that they could not say a civil word to him.
His brothers went to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem. Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers with the flock at Shechem? Come, I am going to send you to them.’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
They saw him in the distance, and before he reached them they made a plot among themselves to put him to death. ‘Here comes the man of dreams’ they said to one another. ‘Come on, let us kill him and throw him into some well; we can say that a wild beast devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams.’
But Reuben heard, and he saved him from their violence. ‘We must not take his life’ he said. ‘Shed no blood,’ said Reuben to them ‘throw him into this well in the wilderness, but do not lay violent hands on him’ – intending to save him from them and to restore him to his father. So, when Joseph reached his brothers, they pulled off his coat, the coat with long sleeves that he was wearing, and catching hold of him they threw him into the well, an empty well with no water in it. They then sat down to eat.
Looking up they saw a group of Ishmaelites who were coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, tragacanth, balsam and resin, which they were taking down into Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let us not do any harm to him. After all, he is our brother, and our own flesh.’ His brothers agreed.
Now some Midianite merchants were passing, and they drew Joseph up out of the well. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver pieces, and these men took Joseph to Egypt.

Gospel

Matthew 21:33-43,45-46
This is the landlord’s heir: come, let us kill him

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures:

It was the stone rejected by the builders
that became the keystone.
This was the Lord’s doing
and it is wonderful to see?

‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’
When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 12, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Moving closer into the third week of Lent it is appropriate that we do a quick reality check. For the certainty of death awaits all of us and death has no favourites rich or poor, young or old. When it is time it is time. Have we then prepared to begin new lives in our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ? Are we prepared to meet Him today? Or have we chosen to reject the path to the eternal life and chosen instead to live this shortlived life with a passion with all it has to offer straying far from the Lord our God.

The rich man in today’s Gospel has no name. In other words he had no relationship whatsoever with the Lord our God. And so let us take heed as we hear the words of Jesus say, “then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” So then let us reflect more deeply, do we really love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength? Do we then love one another as Jesus loves us? Are there Lazaruses in our lives? Those whom we have chosen to ignore or are indifferent to their plight whatever it may be? Do we behave like the rich man who knew Lazarus by name and did nothing. What about those whose names we choose not to know!

Lord Jesus forgive me the times I was blind or even made myself blind to the needs of others. I know that to truly love You is to love the least of my brethren. Fill my heart with Your love Lord. Amen

First reading

Jeremiah 17:5-10
A curse on the man who puts his trust in man and turns from the Lord

The Lord says this:

‘A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on things of flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord.
He is like dry scrub in the wastelands: if good comes, he has no eyes for it, he settles in the parched places of the wilderness, a salt land, uninhabited.

‘A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, with the Lord for his hope.
He is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it feels no alarm, its foliage stays green; it has no worries in a year of drought, and never ceases to bear fruit.

‘The heart is more devious than any other thing, perverse too: who can pierce its secrets?
I, the Lord, search to the heart, I probe the loins, to give each man what his conduct
and his actions deserve.’

Gospel

Luke 16:19-31
Dives and Lazarus

Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.
‘In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.” “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.”
‘The rich man replied, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too.” “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham “let them listen to them.” “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 12, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Moving closer into the third week of Lent it is appropriate that we do a quick reality check. For the certainty of death awaits all of us and death has no favourites rich or poor, young or old. When it is time it is time. Have we then prepared to begin new lives in our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ? Are we prepared to meet Him today? Or have we chosen to reject the path to the eternal life and chosen instead to live this shortlived life with a passion with all it has to offer straying far from the Lord our God.

The rich man in today’s Gospel has no name. In other words he had no relationship whatsoever with the Lord our God. And so let us take heed as we hear the words of Jesus say, “then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” So then let us reflect more deeply, do we really love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength? Do we then love one another as Jesus loves us? Are there Lazaruses in our lives? Those whom we have chosen to ignore or are indifferent to their plight whatever it may be? Do we behave like the rich man who knew Lazarus by name and did nothing. What about those whose names we choose not to know!

Lord Jesus forgive me the times I was blind or even made myself blind to the needs of others. I know that to truly love You is to love the least of my brethren. Fill my heart with Your love Lord. Amen

First reading

Jeremiah 17:5-10
A curse on the man who puts his trust in man and turns from the Lord

The Lord says this:

‘A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on things of flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord.
He is like dry scrub in the wastelands: if good comes, he has no eyes for it, he settles in the parched places of the wilderness, a salt land, uninhabited.

‘A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, with the Lord for his hope.
He is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it feels no alarm, its foliage stays green; it has no worries in a year of drought, and never ceases to bear fruit.

‘The heart is more devious than any other thing, perverse too: who can pierce its secrets?
I, the Lord, search to the heart, I probe the loins, to give each man what his conduct
and his actions deserve.’

Gospel

Luke 16:19-31
Dives and Lazarus

Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.
‘In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.” “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.”
‘The rich man replied, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too.” “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham “let them listen to them.” “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 11, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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What makes a Christian different from any other person of faith? Do they not all teach us to do good and engage in some form of social work? Do they not all have high moral standards to live by? To protect the sanctity of marriage and families? To contribute to the betterment of society and our nation? To promote justice and equality and so on? So regardless of race, language or religion; if we are all working towards the same goals then what makes Christians different? There is no difference! Other than the way we worship the Lord our God.

Unless…..we are truly living out our call to be true disciples of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. This means we take up our cross daily to follow Him. We understand that it is only through our sacrifice and sometimes extreme hardship that we can truly bring about the work of Christ, that is redemption for ourselves and for those whom we serve. And so it is our duty that we must always seek out and help the poor, the orphan, the challenged, those who lives at the peripheries of society. We never seek personal glory or affirmation, our joy is to see our Lord in the faces in whom we serve. And together we live in His peace, mercy and love. So then If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to our Lord Jesus Christ! This is what it means to be a follower of Christ, this is what it means to be called Christian.

Grant me the grace Lord, to never be lukewarm in my service or my faith. That I may serve my brethren with the same zeal You have always, to do Your Father’s will. Let Your will be done in my life. Amen

First reading

Jeremiah 18:18-20
My enemies are digging a pit for me

‘Come on,’ they said, ‘let us concoct a plot against Jeremiah; the priest will not run short of instruction without him, nor the sage of advice, nor the prophet of the word. Come on, let us hit at him with his own tongue; let us listen carefully to every word he says.’

Listen to me, O Lord,
hear what my adversaries are saying.
Should evil be returned for good?
For they are digging a pit for me.
Remember how I stood in your presence
to plead on their behalf,
to turn your wrath away from them.

Gospel

Matthew 20:17-28
They will condemn the Son of Man to death

Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and on the way he took the Twelve to one side and said to them, ‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third day he will rise again.’
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons to make a request of him, and bowed low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus answered. ‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my Father.’
When the other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 10, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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How well we guard our words, as we have learnt over time save for moments we might lose our temper. But is it not true that our actions speak louder than any of our words ever can? For the hearts of men and women are revealed by how they behave; what they do, especially to and for others.

The Lord indeed reminds us today, that we must cease to do evil;learn to do good. For it is by our good actions that others might see the heart of the Lord our God in us and be drawn to Him. People are watching and studying our every move whether we are aware or not. And they may not remember the words we might have said to them, but they will never forget how we make them feel by our actions.

Forgive me Lord Jesus for the many times I had taken Your love for granted. Change my heart from within and fill me with Your love. So that my service of You and my brethren may be pure and pleasing to You. Amen

First reading

Isaiah 1:10,16-20
Cease to do evil; learn to do good

Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the command of our God,
you people of Gomorrah.

‘Wash, make yourselves clean.
Take your wrong-doing out of my sight.
Cease to do evil.
Learn to do good, search for justice,
help the oppressed, be just to the orphan,
plead for the widow.

‘Come now, let us talk this over, says the Lord.
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

‘If you are willing to obey, you shall eat the good things of the earth. But if you persist in rebellion, the sword shall eat you instead.’

Gospel

Matthew 23:1-12
They do not practise what they preach

Addressing the people and his disciples Jesus said, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader phylacteries and longer tassels, like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted obsequiously in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi.
‘You, however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one master, and you are all brothers. You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 10, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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How well we guard our words, as we have learnt over time save for moments we might lose our temper. But is it not true that our actions speak louder than any of our words ever can? For the hearts of men and women are revealed by how they behave; what they do, especially to and for others.

The Lord indeed reminds us today, that we must cease to do evil;learn to do good. For it is by our good actions that others might see the heart of the Lord our God in us and be drawn to Him. People are watching and studying our every move whether we are aware or not. And they may not remember the words we might have said to them, but they will never forget how we make them feel by our actions.

Forgive me Lord Jesus for the many times I had taken Your love for granted. Change my heart from within and fill me with Your love. So that my service of You and my brethren may be pure and pleasing to You. Amen

First reading

Isaiah 1:10,16-20
Cease to do evil; learn to do good

Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the command of our God,
you people of Gomorrah.

‘Wash, make yourselves clean.
Take your wrong-doing out of my sight.
Cease to do evil.
Learn to do good, search for justice,
help the oppressed, be just to the orphan,
plead for the widow.

‘Come now, let us talk this over, says the Lord.
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

‘If you are willing to obey, you shall eat the good things of the earth. But if you persist in rebellion, the sword shall eat you instead.’

Gospel

Matthew 23:1-12
They do not practise what they preach

Addressing the people and his disciples Jesus said, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader phylacteries and longer tassels, like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted obsequiously in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi.
‘You, however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one master, and you are all brothers. You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be exalted.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 9, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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The only way we can truly remain compassionate, merciful and loving is if we bind ourselves to our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. We do this most fully through hearts prepared at reception of Holy Eucharist. In His infinite wisdom and love He had given us the greatest gift, the gift of Himself. So that we can overcome all sin and temptation to live our lives to the full according to His Will. Therefore those of us who know this truth yearn to receive our Lord daily. For He alone is truly the way, the truth and the life. When we absolutely have no means or access to receive Jesus in Holy Eucharist then it must be our greatest desire to do so; We must therefore resist sin, temptation with every fiber of our being and with every ounce of strength we can muster. We arm ourselves through prayer, fasting and the most Holy Word of God. This is what it actually means to be in spiritual communion. For the Lord is our integrity.

In union with our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, we strive to be compassionate as our Heavenly Father is compassionate. There can be no exceptions nor pause in our forgiveness of those who have sinned against us, and by their doing so have hurt us deeply. For through our Lord Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father had forgiven the deeply hurtful sins we had committed against Him. How can we say we are One with the Lord our God if we are not merciful and loving?

Lord teach and guide me that I may learn to be always merciful and loving like You. Amen

First reading

Daniel 9:4-10
Yours is the integrity, Lord; ours the shame

O Lord, God great and to be feared, you keep the covenant and have kindness for those who love you and keep your commandments: we have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly, we have betrayed your commandments and your ordinances and turned away from them. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. Integrity, Lord, is yours; ours the look of shame we wear today, we, the people of Judah, the citizens of Jerusalem, the whole of Israel, near and far away, in every country to which you have dispersed us because of the treason we have committed against you. To us, Lord, the look of shame belongs, to our kings, our princes, our ancestors, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God mercy and pardon belong, because we have betrayed him, and have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God nor followed the laws he has given us through his servants the prophets.

Gospel

Luke 6:36-38
Grant pardon, and you will be pardoned

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 7, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Perfect love found me and touched my very soul.

Perfect love renewed my humanity and restored my full dignity.

Perfect love has graced me with peace and love.

Perfect love has given me hope and a joyous mission, to love perfectly as I have been loved perfectly.

Perfect love is Jesus!

I must therefore be perfect just as my Heavenly Father is perfect.’ Amen

First reading

Deuteronomy 26:16-19 ·
You will be a people consecrated to the Lord

Moses said to the people: ‘The Lord your God today commands you to observe these laws and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
‘You have today made this declaration about the Lord: that he will be your God, but only if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and listen to his voice. And the Lord has today made this declaration about you: that you will be his very own people as he promised you, but only if you keep all his commandments; then for praise and renown and honour he will set you high above all the nations he has made, and you will be a people consecrated to the Lord, as he promised.’

Gospel

Matthew 5:43-48
Pray for those who persecute you

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 6, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We live in a rather narcissistic world and so often find ourselves rather self absorbed. While not everyone lives to take selfies to garner likes and affirmations, we often compare ourselves with others. How far up the ladder we have climbed, well travelled and experienced, self sufficient and living out our lives to the fullest. If unchecked this form of narcissism can spiral out of control. In the case of the have nots, the moaning and groaning of a miserable life too can spiral out of control! Question is, where is God in either one of our lives?

The Lord our God indeed wants us to live life to the full and this life to the full is only be found in Him. All other notions of living life to the full are shortlived and riddled with discontent. To have the life we ought to be living is to be Holy and united fully with the Lord our God. We do this first by acknowledging that we are children of God so loved by our Heavenly Father. We therefore strive daily to renounce all evil and sin so as to live fully as His children. And if we are to live authentic lives as His children then we must acknowledge that our fellow sisters and brothers too are His children. How then can we continue living individual lives thinking how we treat our sisters and brothers does not matter? If we have caused hurt, pain and suffering then we must quickly make amends. If we have turned a blind eye to the needs of the least of our brethren then we must quickly make amends. Only then will offering at the altar of our Lord be pleasing. For then we will be living as one Body In Him.

In Your mercy and love Lord may I be likewise merciful and loving to all. Amen

First reading

Ezekiel 18:21-28 ·
I prefer to see the wicked man renounce his wickedness and live

Thus says the Lord:
‘If the wicked man renounces all the sins he has committed, respects my laws and is law-abiding and honest, he will certainly live; he will not die. All the sins he committed will be forgotten from then on; he shall live because of the integrity he has practised. What! Am I likely to take pleasure in the death of a wicked man – it is the Lord who speaks – and not prefer to see him renounce his wickedness and live?
‘But if the upright man renounces his integrity, commits sin, copies the wicked man and practises every kind of filth, is he to live? All the integrity he has practised shall be forgotten from then on; but this is because he himself has broken faith and committed sin, and for this he shall die. But you object, “What the Lord does is unjust.” Listen, you House of Israel: is what I do unjust? Is it not what you do that is unjust? When the upright man renounces his integrity to commit sin and dies because of this, he dies because of the evil that he himself has committed. 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.’

Gospel

Matthew 5:20-26
Anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
‘You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court; if a man calls his brother “Fool” he will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and if a man calls him “Renegade” he will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 5, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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What sort of relationship would it be if children only spoke to their parents if they needed or wanted something? They either trust they might get what they want, need or at least remain hopeful. The whinning begins when the answer is no or if the parents propose an alternative. This unfortunately is the situation in many households. And it is likewise with many in their relationship with God our Father. The familial ties if any is weak which begs the question, where is the love?

Thriving families with great love and respect for one another will tell you that it is not by chance. Each and every member strives to be loving and merciful with everyone else in the family. There is always give, take and a whole lot of sacrifice. There is gratitude and affirmation. Most of all the family gathers for family prayers and just as they make themselves available and present to God so too, do they make themselves present one another. Why would it surprise anyone that they are anointed and blessed?

Having such a relationship as described above is in a very deep sense, no different from one with God our loving Father. He knows what we need or want even without us having to open our lips. Just as we know and honour His will for us. And through our sacrifice and love of Him, He will grant us what we need. If it is not granted then either we did not need it or there is something better we need to patiently wait for or it may simply be something we can learn from and grow.

My relationship with You Jesus, is my prayer. Amen

First reading

Esther 4:17 ·
I am alone, Lord, and have no-one but you

Queen Esther took refuge with the Lord in the mortal peril which had overtaken her. She besought the Lord God of Israel in these words:

‘My Lord, our King, the only one, come to my help, for I am alone and have no helper but you and am about to take my life in my hands.

‘I have been taught from my earliest years, in the bosom of my family, that you, Lord, chose Israel out of all the nations and our ancestors out of all the people of old times to be your heritage for ever; and that you have treated them as you promised.

‘Remember, Lord; reveal yourself in the time of our distress.

‘As for me, give me courage, King of gods and master of all power. Put persuasive words into my mouth when I face the lion; change his feeling into hatred for our enemy, that the latter and all like him may be brought to their end.

‘As for ourselves, save us by your hand, and come to my help, for I am alone and have no one but you, Lord.’

Gospel

Matthew 7:7-12
Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him. Is there a man among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
‘So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 4, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Is it not human to want God to give us a sign that He is real? That He has listened to our prayers? Did St Thomas not ask for the same? How many signs will it take? How many testimonials must we hear? Did Jesus not perform any sign and wonders while He journeyed through the land proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God? Why then did they not know that the Messiah had already come. Emmanuel had come?

It is easy to deride them at being self absorbed, even clueless but how different are we really? Are our hearts prepared to receive our Lord? Do we already have a deep personal relationship with Him through prayer and His word that we should recognise Him when He comes into our presence. The greatest sign that we should hope for is His peace and love reigning deep within us such that His light burst forth upon those who seek Him.

I suppose those still struggling to know if the Lord our God loves truly loves them should simply look upon the crucifix and contemplate the sure sign of God’s love for them outpoured from the cross; in which our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ hung.

Jesus my sweet saviour, let me be a sign of Your great love for all. Amen

First reading

Jonah 3:1-10 ·

The Ninevites repent, and God spares them

The word of the Lord was addressed to Jonah: ‘Up!’ he said ‘Go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach to them as I told you to.’ Jonah set out and went to Nineveh in obedience to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was a city great beyond compare: it took three days to cross it. Jonah went on into the city, making a day’s journey. He preached in these words, ‘Only forty days more and Nineveh is going to be destroyed.’ And the people of Nineveh believed in God; they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least. The news reached the king of Nineveh, who rose from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes. A proclamation was then promulgated throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his ministers, as follows: ‘Men and beasts, herds and flocks, are to taste nothing; they must not eat, they must not drink water. All are to put on sackcloth and call on God with all their might; and let everyone renounce his evil behaviour and the wicked things he has done. Who knows if God will not change his mind and relent, if he will not renounce his burning wrath, so that we do not perish?’ God saw their efforts to renounce their evil behaviour, and God relented: he did not inflict on them the disaster which he had threatened.

Gospel

Luke 11:29-32

As Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be a sign

The crowds got even bigger, and Jesus addressed them:

‘This is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. On Judgement day the Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 3, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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What can we say about the all powerful living Word of God? So complete and whole, yet ever so incomprehensible. The spirit of God encapsulated yet by no means confined in the least. The Word which brings forth light and life to the fullest extent beyond man’s comprehension. And yet with a miniscule breath could plunge into dark, extinguishing all life.

So we rightfully cry out with the Psalmist… What is man that thou art mindful of him,
and the son of man that thou dost care for him? Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor. Ps 8:4–5

Then when sin entered into our hearts by our disobedience and we were doomed to die. You O Heavenly Father sent Your Only Begotten Son, Your Word made flesh who dwelt among us and would later lay down His life for the redemption of the world.

The prayer that Your Son Jesus taught us is the most beautiful and complete prayer. Praying and reflecting deeply on the words our hearts are opened to see what was revealed from the very beginning. That You Lord are God of abundant love and bountiful mercy! And it is only through our love and mercy for others that we shall look upon Your face.

Lord Jesus, let Your love and mercy flow through us. Amen

First reading

Isaiah 55:10-11 ·
The word that goes out from my mouth does not return to me empty

Thus says the Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.’

Gospel

Matthew 6:7-15
How to pray

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him. So you should pray like this:

‘Our Father in heaven,
may your name be held holy,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.
And do not put us to the test,
but save us from the evil one.

‘Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 2, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Today the Lord speaks to our hearts. Truths that are not easy to hear. For many of us are guilty and should be ashamed if not for having done them or if not for having neglected to do the right thing.

We might pride ourselves for not having stolen, dealing fraudulently, of unjust verdicts or holding back a labourer’s wage. But what about cursing the dumb? Here of course it means one who cannot speak. But what about those who cannot speak up for themselves? For those less intelligent to know any better and so are taken advantage of? Even if we had not spoken or acted against them by not standing up for them have we not cursed them ourselves? What about those who could not see the wrong they have done or have realised and want to return to the Lord our God but don’t know how? Have we put obstacles in their way? Have we failed to help them see the light? What about when things do not turn out the way we want or expect them to, do we then lash out against the leadership of others for the outcome? Is it not slander? Or subtly called ‘gossip’?

I suppose the majority of us are guilty of and should rightfully be ashamed for being blind to the needs of the least of our brethren. The prisoner, the naked, hungry, and thirsty. We had failed to see them as our very own, let alone see the face of Christ in them! The questions we always seem to ask is what can we do? Or how can we help? Instead of simply let me help…

Open my eyes to see Your face in my brethren, and the grace, mercy and love to serve them in Your most precious name. Amen

First reading
Leviticus 19:1-2,11-18 ·
Only pass judgement on your neighbour according to justice

The Lord spoke to Moses; he said: ‘Speak to the whole community of the sons of Israel and say to them:
‘“Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.
‘“You must not steal nor deal deceitfully or fraudulently with your neighbour. You must not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God. I am the Lord. You must not exploit or rob your neighbour. You must not keep back the labourer’s wage until next morning. You must not curse the dumb, nor put an obstacle in the blind man’s way, but you must fear your God. I am the Lord.
‘“You must not be guilty of unjust verdicts. You must neither be partial to the little man nor overawed by the great; you must pass judgement on your neighbour according to justice. You must not slander your own people, and you must not jeopardise your neighbour’s life. I am the Lord. You must not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. You must openly tell him, your neighbour, of his offence; this way you will not take a sin upon yourself. You must not exact vengeance, nor must you bear a grudge against the children of your people. You must love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.”’

Gospel
Matthew 25:31-46
I was naked and you clothed me; sick, and you visited me

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.
‘Then the King will say to those on his right hand, “Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” Then the virtuous will say to him in reply, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you; or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome; naked and clothe you; sick or in prison and go to see you?” And the King will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”
‘Next he will say to those on his left hand, “Go away from me, with your curse upon you, to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you never gave me food; I was thirsty and you never gave me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you never made me welcome, naked and you never clothed me, sick and in prison and you never visited me.” Then it will be their turn to ask, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help?” Then he will answer, “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you neglected to do this to one of the least of these, you neglected to do it to me.”
‘And they will go away to eternal punishment, and the virtuous to eternal life.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 29, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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My Lord You came for me!

Instead of pushing me far away because of the filth of my sins, You O Lord drew me close. You sat and ate with me, my friends were your friends. Mi casa es su casa.

My Lord You came for me!

Who am I that You should love me so? Guilt and shame filled my heart, for deeply offending You by the wrong choices I’ve made. How could You love me still? Then I saw myself through Your eyes.

My Lord You came for me!

Follow me, I heard You call. And I felt Your grace gently flowing and enveloping my very being. I am restored, I was am made whole. I gladly follow You Lord, wherever You lead me so.

My Lord You came for me! Amen

First reading

Isaiah 58:9-14
You will be like a spring whose waters never run dry

The Lord says this:

If you do away with the yoke,
the clenched fist, the wicked word,
if you give your bread to the hungry,
and relief to the oppressed, your light will rise in the darkness, and your shadows become like noon. The Lord will always guide you, giving you relief in desert places.

He will give strength to your bones and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never run dry.

You will rebuild the ancient ruins, build up on the old foundations. You will be called ‘Breach-mender’, ‘Restorer of ruined houses.’

If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
and doing business on the holy day, if you call the Sabbath ‘Delightful’, and the day sacred to the Lord ‘Honourable’, if you honour it by abstaining from travel, from doing business and from gossip, then shall you find your happiness in the Lord and I will lead you triumphant over the heights of the land.
I will feed you on the heritage of Jacob your father. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Gospel

Luke 5:27-32
Jesus comes not to call the virtuous, but sinners to repentance

Jesus noticed a tax collector, Levi by name, sitting by the customs house, and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And leaving everything he got up and followed him.
In his honour Levi held a great reception in his house, and with them at table was a large gathering of tax collectors and others. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples and said, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus said to them in reply, ‘It is not those who are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the virtuous, but sinners to repentance.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 28, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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What is the purpose of fasting and following the Lenten observances if we do not will our hearts to change, to pray to our Lord fervently to help change them so as to unite ourselves more fully to Him? Can we then continue with unbridled tongues? With allowing our tempers to flare? With a lukewarm faith? With indifference? With feigned ignorance of the poor and the poor in spirit? Can we continue to give in to temptation and sin?

Emptying and surrendering ourselves to Him so that He can fill the voids in our lives with His graces and His very self through the act of fasting is only the first step. There is still prayer and almsgiving which of course includes performing corporal and spiritual acts of mercy. Yes mighty challenging indeed! But think of the prize, the bridegroom Himself! The best part is that He is with us every step of the way in our journey guiding and enriching us with the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Oh Lord allow me to always listen to Your voice and my heart will never be hardened. Amen

First reading

Isaiah 58:1-9 ·

The sort of fast that pleases me

Thus says the Lord:

Shout for all you are worth,raise your voice like a trumpet. Proclaim their faults to my people, their sins to the House of Jacob.

They seek me day after day, they long to know my ways, like a nation that wants to act with integrity and not ignore the law of its God.

They ask me for laws that are just, they long for God to draw near: ‘Why should we fast if you never see it, why do penance if you never notice?’

Look, you do business on your fast-days, you oppress all your workmen; look, you quarrel and squabble when you fast and strike the poor man with your fist.

Fasting like yours today will never make your voice heard on high. Is that the sort of fast that pleases me, a truly penitential day for men?

Hanging your head like a reed, lying down on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call fasting, a day acceptable to the Lord?

Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me

– it is the Lord who speaks – to break unjust fetters and undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke, to share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor, to clothe the man you see to be naked and not turn from your own kin? Then will your light shine like the dawn and your wound be quickly healed over.

Your integrity will go before you and the glory of the Lord behind you.

Cry, and the Lord will answer; call, and he will say, ‘I am here.’

Gospel

Matthew 9:14-15

When the bridegroom is taken from them, then they will fast

John’s disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 27, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Who in their right mind, able bodied and all would choose death over life? Yet this unconscionable act is chosen over and over again each time we choose sin over life. Yes indeed sin equals death.

Jesus our Lord is the source of all life and so by choosing to sin we distant ourselves further and further from Him by our disobedience. And while it may seem that we are living our lives to the full, passionately fulfilling our base desires; we are in actual fact withering, falling and sooner than later we will die.

To live in the love of Jesus is truly choosing life to the full. By embracing the challenges, hardships and sacrifices we opt to carry the gift of the cross. For by dying in Him, we rise to new life with and in Him.

Lord Jesus Bless and anoint me, that I may faithfully choose to serve You above all else. Now and forever. Amen

First reading

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 ·
I set before you today life or death, blessing or curse

Moses said to the people: ‘See, today I set before you life and prosperity, death and disaster. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I enjoin on you today, if you love the Lord your God and follow his ways, if you keep his commandments, his laws, his customs, you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to make your own. But if your heart strays, if you refuse to listen, if you let yourself be drawn into worshipping other gods and serving them, I tell you today, you will most certainly perish; you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today: I set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live, in the love of the Lord your God, obeying his voice, clinging to him; for in this your life consists, and on this depends your long stay in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he would give them.’

Gospel

Luke 9:22-25
Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.’
Then to all he said:
‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it. What gain, then, is it for a man to have won the whole world and to have lost or ruined his very self?’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 26, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Traditionally today is the day we receive the mark of ashes on our foreheads by the priest or communion ministers as an outward sign that we have chosen to begin our Lenten observances. It has never been a day of obligation, but for many of us it is in the sense that we choose our love for God over everything else and want to be fully united with Him. Some of us this year will not have this opportunity due to the church closure, and so some have opted for a DIY solution by burning their old palms and marking themselves with the ashes.

What is of most importance is our inner disposition. Is today simply a reminder of our Mortality? From Ashes we came from ashes we shall return? Or is it a stark reminder that we are already dead if we do not have a relationship with the Lord our God? For we have not truly lived as we ought to in His love. Is today simply about returning to our God’s good graces? Or is it about truly being sorry and contrite for sins, for having wandered far from Him; and wanting badly to be in His loving embrace.

So sisters and brothers in Christ, if today and through the forty days of Lent, we rend our hearts for our many heinous sins, for what we have done and what we have failed to do. If we are truly penitent and want to start anew. Then we can rest assured that our Lord Jesus Christ will heal and make us whole. And we will live fully in His love and light at Easter!

Let us turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospels. Amen

First reading

Joel 2:12-18 ·
Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn

‘Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks – come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning.’
Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn, turn to the Lord your God again, for he is all tenderness and compassion,
slow to anger, rich in graciousness, and ready to relent.
Who knows if he will not turn again, will not relent, will not leave a blessing as he passes, oblation and libation for the Lord your God?

Sound the trumpet in Zion!
Order a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, call the people together,
summon the community,
assemble the elders, gather the children, even the infants at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his bedroom and the bride her alcove.
Between vestibule and altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, lament.
Let them say,
‘Spare your people, Lord!
Do not make your heritage a thing of shame, a byword for the nations. Why should it be said among the nations, “Where is their God?”’

Then the Lord, jealous on behalf of his land, took pity on his people.

Second reading

2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Be reconciled to God

We are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God. As his fellow workers, we beg you once again not to neglect the grace of God that you have received. For he says: At the favourable time, I have listened to you; on the day of salvation I came to your help. Well, now is the favourable time; this is the day of salvation.

Gospel

Matthew 6:1-6,16-18
Your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing this you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win men’s admiration. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing; your almsgiving must be secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
‘And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them; I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
‘When you fast do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they pull long faces to let men know they are fasting. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that no one will know you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is done in secret; and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 25, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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All leadership perhaps starts out innocently enough with the sole desire of serving the Lord our God and brethren. But after a while if we do not ground ourselves by focusing both on our crucified Christ and His resurrection thereby carrying our own to cross to follow Him; we will be tainted by the world! It may start subtly with seeking affirmation, approval, then recognition and honour. Truth is withheld to keep the ‘peace’ the unified consensus, never mind that the way of Christ is through the narrow gate. Prayers are written and everyone is encouraged to pray, so that our Lord might listen to the construct of the beautiful words and overlook the agenda we want passed. Are we then serving the Lord? Or is He meant to serve us?

Why does Jesus put His arm around the child and set the child before His disciples? His action spoke volumes even before His words reached their ears! You and I should see ourselves as that child. I am that child so loved by God my Father. My Lord and God’s protective arm is around me. I am under His providence and so desire only that which I can use to build His Kingdom. I bask in His great and complete love for me and therefore seek no other kind of love of which only brings discontent. The more I want to hold on to His love for me, the more I must give it away to my brethren especially the least; that is to the stranger, the widow, the defenseless child, the poor. It is only through the Cross that I carry for love of my God, that I am truly alive in His presence.

Abba I am Your child. I’ve come to do Your will. Amen

First reading

James 4:1-10 ·
Resist the devil and he will run away

Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves? You want something and you haven’t got it; so you are prepared to kill. You have an ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get your way by force. Why you don’t have what you want is because you don’t pray for it; when you do pray and don’t get it, it is because you have not prayed properly, you have prayed for something to indulge your own desires.
You are as unfaithful as adulterous wives; don’t you realise that making the world your friend is making God your enemy? Anyone who chooses the world for his friend turns himself into God’s enemy. Surely you don’t think scripture is wrong when it says: the spirit which he sent to live in us wants us for himself alone? But he has been even more generous to us, as scripture says: God opposes the proud but he gives generously to the humble. Give in to God, then; resist the devil, and he will run away from you. The nearer you go to God, the nearer he will come to you. Clean your hands, you sinners, and clear your minds, you waverers. Look at your wretched condition, and weep for it in misery; be miserable instead of laughing, gloomy instead of happy. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up.

Gospel

Mark 9:30-37
Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me

Jesus and his disciples made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know, because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, ‘The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men; they will put him to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.’ But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him.
They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ They said nothing because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.’ He then took a little child, set him in front of them, put his arms round him, and said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 24, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Lord together with my brethren we have prayed fervently, give us today our daily bread but those perhaps those far wiser than us have decided to deny us direct access to You for a time.

Lord Jesus we do have faith, help the little faith we have!

We are weak Lord and evil surrounds us ready to pounce for we have little left to defend ourselves.

Lord Jesus we do have faith, help the little faith we have!

We want to gather together in the sanctity of our homes to praise, worship and listen to Your Word for us, but fear now rules and keeps us away.

Lord Jesus we do have faith, help the little faith we have!

We humbly submit ourselves to You Holy Will for us, as we embrace this cross we have been given.

Lord Jesus we do have faith, help the little faith we have!

Lift this curse Lord we pray, for everything is possible with You. All our faith and trust we give You Lord.

Lord Jesus we do have faith, help the little faith we have! Amen

First reading

James 3:13-18
Show wisdom and avoid ambition

If there are any wise or learned men among you, let them show it by their good lives, with humility and wisdom in their actions. But if at heart you have the bitterness of jealousy, or a self-seeking ambition, never make any claims for yourself or cover up the truth with lies – principles of this kind are not the wisdom that comes down from above: they are only earthly, animal and devilish. Wherever you find jealousy and ambition, you find disharmony, and wicked things of every kind being done; whereas the wisdom that comes down from above is essentially something pure; it also makes for peace, and is kindly and considerate; it is full of compassion and shows itself by doing good; nor is there any trace of partiality or hypocrisy in it. Peacemakers, when they work for peace, sow the seeds which will bear fruit in holiness.

Gospel

Mark 9:14-29
Help the little faith I have!

When Jesus, with Peter, James and John came down from the mountain and rejoined the disciples, they saw a large crowd round them and some scribes arguing with them. The moment they saw him the whole crowd were struck with amazement and ran to greet him. ‘What are you arguing about with them?’ he asked. A man answered him from the crowd, ‘Master, I have brought my son to you; there is a spirit of dumbness in him, and when it takes hold of him it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and goes rigid. And I asked your disciples to cast it out and they were unable to.’ ‘You faithless generation’ he said to them in reply. ‘How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.’ They brought the boy to him, and as soon as the spirit saw Jesus it threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell to the ground and lay writhing there, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ ‘From childhood,’ he replied ‘and it has often thrown him into the fire and into the water, in order to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.’ ‘If you can?’ retorted Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.’ Immediately the father of the boy cried out, ‘I do have faith. Help the little faith I have!’ And when Jesus saw how many people were pressing round him, he rebuked the unclean spirit. ‘Deaf and dumb spirit,’ he said ‘I command you: come out of him and never enter him again.’ Then throwing the boy into violent convulsions it came out shouting, and the boy lay there so like a corpse that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him up, and he was able to stand. When he had gone indoors his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why were we unable to cast it out?’ ‘This is the kind’ he answered ‘that can only be driven out by prayer.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 24, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Lord together with my brethren we have prayed fervently, give us today our daily bread but those perhaps those far wiser than us have decided to deny us direct access to You for a time.

Lord Jesus we do have faith, help the little faith we have!

We are weak Lord and evil surrounds us ready to pounce for we have little left to defend ourselves.

Lord Jesus we do have faith, help the little faith we have!

We want to gather together in the sanctity of our homes to praise, worship and listen to Your Word for us, but fear now rules and keeps us away.

Lord Jesus we do have faith, help the little faith we have!

We humbly submit ourselves to You Holy Will for us, as we embrace this cross we have been given.

Lord Jesus we do have faith, help the little faith we have!

Lift this curse Lord we pray, for everything is possible with You. All our faith and trust we give You Lord.

Lord Jesus we do have faith, help the little faith we have! Amen

First reading

James 3:13-18
Show wisdom and avoid ambition

If there are any wise or learned men among you, let them show it by their good lives, with humility and wisdom in their actions. But if at heart you have the bitterness of jealousy, or a self-seeking ambition, never make any claims for yourself or cover up the truth with lies – principles of this kind are not the wisdom that comes down from above: they are only earthly, animal and devilish. Wherever you find jealousy and ambition, you find disharmony, and wicked things of every kind being done; whereas the wisdom that comes down from above is essentially something pure; it also makes for peace, and is kindly and considerate; it is full of compassion and shows itself by doing good; nor is there any trace of partiality or hypocrisy in it. Peacemakers, when they work for peace, sow the seeds which will bear fruit in holiness.

Gospel

Mark 9:14-29
Help the little faith I have!

When Jesus, with Peter, James and John came down from the mountain and rejoined the disciples, they saw a large crowd round them and some scribes arguing with them. The moment they saw him the whole crowd were struck with amazement and ran to greet him. ‘What are you arguing about with them?’ he asked. A man answered him from the crowd, ‘Master, I have brought my son to you; there is a spirit of dumbness in him, and when it takes hold of him it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and goes rigid. And I asked your disciples to cast it out and they were unable to.’ ‘You faithless generation’ he said to them in reply. ‘How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him to me.’ They brought the boy to him, and as soon as the spirit saw Jesus it threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell to the ground and lay writhing there, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ ‘From childhood,’ he replied ‘and it has often thrown him into the fire and into the water, in order to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.’ ‘If you can?’ retorted Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for anyone who has faith.’ Immediately the father of the boy cried out, ‘I do have faith. Help the little faith I have!’ And when Jesus saw how many people were pressing round him, he rebuked the unclean spirit. ‘Deaf and dumb spirit,’ he said ‘I command you: come out of him and never enter him again.’ Then throwing the boy into violent convulsions it came out shouting, and the boy lay there so like a corpse that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’ But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him up, and he was able to stand. When he had gone indoors his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why were we unable to cast it out?’ ‘This is the kind’ he answered ‘that can only be driven out by prayer.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 22, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Simple question, can you be Catholic if you do Not pledge allegiance and obedience to the Bishop of Rome, His Holiness our Pope? Answer is no!

For Jesus our Lord and saviour chose to institute His One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church through St. Peter our first Pope when He said, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.” And so by the grace of the Lord our God we have Apostolic Succession from St Peter down to Pope Francis. By the power of God and through the workings of the Holy Spirit we will stand firm upon our rock and our Church will continue to the end of time; to be the Light of the world.

We pray Lord that You watch over our Holy father Pope Francis and keep him in Your loving care. Be with him, strengthen and guide him so that He and together with your Shepherds will lead us faithfully unto You. Amen

First reading

1 Peter 5:1-4 ·
Watch over the flock, not simply as a duty but gladly

Now I have something to tell your elders: I am an elder myself, and a witness to the sufferings of Christ, and with you I have a share in the glory that is to be revealed. Be the shepherds of the flock of God that is entrusted to you: watch over it, not simply as a duty but gladly, because God wants it; not for sordid money, but because you are eager to do it. Never be a dictator over any group that is put in your charge, but be an example that the whole flock can follow. When the chief shepherd appears, you will be given the crown of unfading glory.

Gospel

Matthew 16:13-19
You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.’ 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. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 21, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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<!–Mark 8:34-9:1–>

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 20, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of God!

The most generous people I know and have witnessed are the poor or those who have experienced poverty. They share with joy and freely from what little they have as if they they share out of their abundance. They know not for certain when their next meal will be, they only know that their brethren not necessarily of blood is together with them and for that they rejoice. Another day to live in God’s grace they might say. Truly the Lord our God is closest to the poor and the poor in spirit. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, but lose his soul?” Mark 8:36

When we are humble, hungry and thirsting after the Lord our God to fill our spiritual emptiness and poverty. To know that we need His wisdom, His healing grace and strength upon us, only then are we fully united with Him. We not only embrace our sufferings but seek to unite them with His for the redemption of the world. Every little suffering or sacrifice is an opportunity to draw closer to Him for us, our loved ones and our neighbour.

Lord Jesus, show us Your way, Your truth and life and we will follow. Amen

First reading

James 2:1-9 ·

God chose the poor but you do not respect them

My brothers, do not try to combine faith in Jesus Christ, our glorified Lord, with the making of distinctions between classes of people. Now suppose a man comes into witnessed synagogue, beautifully dressed and with a gold ring on, and at the same time a poor man comes in, in shabby clothes, and you take notice of the well-dressed man, and say, ‘Come this way to the best seats’; then you tell the poor man, ‘Stand over there’ or ‘You can sit on the floor by my foot-rest.’ Can’t you see that you have used two different standards in your mind, and turned yourselves into judges, and corrupt judges at that?
Listen, my dear brothers: it was those who are poor according to the world that God chose, to be rich in faith and to be the heirs to the kingdom which he promised to those who love him. In spite of this, you have no respect for anybody who is poor. Isn’t it always the rich who are against you? Isn’t it always their doing when you are dragged before the court? Aren’t they the ones who insult the honourable name to which you have been dedicated? Well, the right thing to do is to keep the supreme law of scripture: you must love your neighbour as yourself; but as soon as you make distinctions between classes of people, you are committing sin, and under condemnation for breaking the Law.

Gospel

Mark 8:27-33
The way you think is not God’s way, but man’s

Jesus and his disciples left for the villages round Caesarea Philippi. On the way he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say I am?’ And they told him. ‘John the Baptist,’ they said ‘others Elijah; others again, one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he asked ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter spoke up and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him.
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again; and he said all this quite openly. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. But, turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said to him, ‘Get behind me, Satan! Because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 19, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Oh how I miss Your touch Lord Jesus! Your loving embrace in Holy Communion. How You have helped me see more clearly my sisters and brothers in You. Touch me once again Lord that I may see more fully with my heart, all the wonder of Your works. But most of all that I may see my brethren who are in need, so that I may reach out and minister to them in Your name.

Let my prayer and reflections on Your living Word draw me every closer to You. That I may dwell in Your love and bring Your love to those in need by the service of my hands and feet. And may all that I say and do be a reflection of You, my Lord and my God. Amen

First reading

James 1:19-27

The Word is not only to be listened to, but obeyed

Remember this, my dear brothers: be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow to rouse your temper; God’s righteousness is never served by man’s anger; so do away with all the impurities and bad habits that are still left in you – accept and submit to the word which has been planted in you and can save your souls. But you must do what the word tells you, and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves. To listen to the word and not obey is like looking at your own features in a mirror and then, after a quick look, going off and immediately forgetting what you looked like. But the man who looks steadily at the perfect law of freedom and makes that his habit – not listening and then forgetting, but actively putting it into practice – will be happy in all that he does.
Nobody must imagine that he is religious while he still goes on deceiving himself and not keeping control over his tongue; anyone who does this has the wrong idea of religion. Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows when they need it, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.

Gospel

Mark 8:22-26
The blind man was cured and could see everything distinctly

Jesus and his disciples came to Bethsaida, and some people brought to him a blind man whom they begged him to touch. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Then putting spittle on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked, ‘Can you see anything?’ The man, who was beginning to see, replied, ‘I can see people; they look like trees to me, but they are walking about.’ Then he laid his hands on the man’s eyes again and he saw clearly; he was cured, and he could see everything plainly and distinctly. And Jesus sent him home, saying, ‘Do not even go into the village.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 18, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We must strive daily to resist all forms of sin and temptation especially now that many do not have access to the sacraments. For even the tiniest of sin grows and spread its evil. Often enough what is said comes from a place of pride, of thinking one knows better, from demanding justice, self preservation maybe even self benefit and so the gossip and rumour mill begins. It spreads injures, destroys and takes no prisoners except the one who started it. Two of the many deadly sins have been and continue to be the downfall of many men and women alike. They are pride and lust! Of course greed follows closely behind. None of which comes from the Lord our God who is without sin and therefore nothing sinful comes from one who is blameless.

Therefore it is right and just, always and everywhere; to give Him thanks and praise. For our Lord Jesus Christ by His life, death and Resurrection had conquered sin and through Him we have life eternal. Through Him, we can live life to the full in His love. Every morning we awake and before we lay our head to sleep, we should come into the presence of our Lord and give Him the truth of our heart. We plead for His mercy and the grace to begin aright and new. We surrender the day and night to Him, most of all, our lives! So that through Him we will lead fruitful lives glorifying the Lord our God Amen.

First reading

James 1:12-18 ·
Temptation is not from God

Happy the man who stands firm when trials come. He has proved himself, and will win the prize of life, the crown that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Never, when you have been tempted, say, ‘God sent the temptation’; God cannot be tempted to do anything wrong, and he does not tempt anybody. Everyone who is tempted is attracted and seduced by his own wrong desire. Then the desire conceives and gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it too has a child, and the child is death.
Make no mistake about this, my dear brothers: it is all that is good, everything that is perfect, which is given us from above; it comes down from the Father of all light; with him there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow of a change. By his own choice he made us his children by the message of the truth so that we should be a sort of first-fruits of all that he had created.

Gospel

Mark 8:14-21
Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod

The disciples had forgotten to take any food and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them this warning, ‘Keep your eyes open; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ And they said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ And Jesus knew it, and he said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ They answered, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ And they answered, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Are you still without perception?’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 17, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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And so in this time of uncertainty, trial and the challenges that await us; we are called to learn and to be patient. We turn to the Lord our God’s wisdom to show us the way. We hold on dearly to our faith and look upon the cross in which our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ hung for us. Truly the sign of God’s endearing love for us for all time.

We remember how He loved us and that the cross was not the end! But only the beginning of new life with Him through His resurrection. Christ conquered death so that we might live free in His love.

So let us continue to pray fervently that our Lord Jesus’s mercy, justice and peace will prevail in our day, in our minds and in our hearts. Amen

First reading

James 1:1-11 ·
Your faith is put to the test so that your patience may make you complete

From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion.
    My brothers, you will always have your trials but, when they come, try to treat them as a happy privilege; you understand that your faith is only put to the test to make you patient, but patience too is to have its practical results so that you will become fully-developed, complete, with nothing missing.
    If there is any one of you who needs wisdom, he must ask God, who gives to all freely and ungrudgingly; it will be given to him. But he must ask with faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves thrown up in the sea when the wind drives. That sort of person, in two minds, wavering between going different ways, must not expect that the Lord will give him anything.
    It is right for the poor brother to be proud of his high rank, and the rich one to be thankful that he has been humbled, because riches last no longer than the flowers in the grass; the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, the flower falls; what looked so beautiful now disappears. It is the same with the rich man: his business goes on; he himself perishes.


Gospel

Mark 8:11-13
No sign shall be given to this generation

The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with Jesus; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to test him. And with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ And leaving them again and re-embarking, he went away to the opposite shore.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 15, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Have we taken the Lord our God for granted?

That by choosing sin over our Lord, His mercy and love will some how always prevail?

That by simply uttering our prayers with our lips disconnect from our hearts we shall always receive our daily bread?

That we will always have an opportunity to adore Him in His real presence before the Blessed Sacrament and so we give in to other priorities, even personal pleasures.

That we will always have a place to worship as One Body In Him, to give Him thanks praise, and receive the blessings and graces we need to last the week that is if we choose to go and to be on time. Till war and calamity denies us even this grace.

That desiring and being in spiritual communion is enough to nourish and sustain us against the great evil that surrounds us and is waiting to pounce.

Have we taken the Lord our God for granted?

Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour, forgive us our many sins and shortcomings. Look with pity upon us Oh Lord; in Your love and mercy grant us the bread of heaven, which gives us life eternal, now and forever. Amen

First reading

1 Kings 12:26-32,13:33-34
The prophecy of the separation of Israel

Jeroboam thought to himself, ‘As things are, the kingdom will revert to the House of David. If this people continues to go up to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, the people’s heart will turn back again to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will put me to death.’ So the king thought this over and then made two golden calves; he said to the people, ‘You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, Israel; these brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ He set up one in Bethel and the people went in procession all the way to Dan in front of the other. He set up the temple of the high places and appointed priests from ordinary families, who were not of the sons of Levi. Jeroboam also instituted a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth of the month, like the feast that was kept in Judah, and he went up to the altar. That was how he behaved in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made; and at Bethel he put the priests of the high places he had established.
Jeroboam did not give up his wicked ways but went on appointing priests for the high places from the common people. He consecrated as priests of the high places any who wished to be. Such conduct made the House of Jeroboam a sinful House, and caused its ruin and extinction from the face of the earth.

Gospel

Mark 8:1-10
The feeding of the four thousand

A great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. If I send them off home hungry they will collapse on the way; some have come a great distance.’ His disciples replied, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ He asked them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ ‘Seven’ they said. Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them among the crowd. They had a few small fish as well, and over these he said a blessing and ordered them to be distributed also. They ate as much as they wanted, and they collected seven basketfuls of the scraps left over. Now there had been about four thousand people. He sent them away and immediately, getting into the boat with his disciples, went to the region of Dalmanutha.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 14, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We are one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. And so just as we are One Body In Christ we must stand united in our faith and in our worship bound together to our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Through His Vicar our Pope and obedience to our Archbishop we are of One Body as we are of One mind. Church is therefore not just a building but built on a foundation of living stones. 1 Peter 2:5

And all of us, sinners that we are must turn frequently to our Lord Jesus Christ for the necessary graces through the sacraments He bestowed upon us; so that we might remain steadfast and to grow in Holiness. Let us then rejoice for through Him or hearts, minds are opened to praise, worship and adore Him. To glorify Him by our lives by living free from sin, in His love one Body In Him. Amen

Dearest Mother intercede for our Church as we pray, Hail Mary….

A reading from

the first Book of Kings11:29-32; 12:19

One day when Jeroboam had gone out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh accosted him on the road. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak; the two of them were in the open country by themselves. Ahijah took the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve strips, saying to Jeroboam, “Take ten strips for yourself, for thus the Lord speaks, the God of Israel, ‘I am going to tear the kingdom from Solomon’s hand and give ten tribes to you. He shall keep one tribe for the sake of my ­servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.’”
And Israel has been separated from the House of David until the present day.
The word of the Lord.

A reading from

the holy Gospel according to Mark7:31-37

Returning from the district of Tyre, Jesus went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, right through the Decapolis region. And they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s ears and touched his tongue with spittle. Then looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, “Ephphatha”, that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, and the ligament of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly. And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they published it. Their admiration was unbounded. “He has done all things well,” they said, “he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 13, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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From the very beginning, our almighty and ever-living God has no name. For He is all in all, above everything, everyone and has no beginning and no end. Therefore there can exist no other God, there is only one, the God of Abraham, God of Issac and God of Jacob. One living triune God for all time. So loved He the world and to save us from eternal death by our sins, the Son of God became the Son of Man and bore the name Jesus who saves! He revealed for all time, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8:58

Such is His mercy and love that He even hears the intercessions of non-believers who cry out to Him in desperation. He heals and restores by their faith in Him. How great and loving is our God! We are all indeed sinners in need of His mercy and compassion.

Let us all not wait to change but come swiftly and enter into His presence, so that He can change us from within. He can free us from all evil, so as to live Holy lives in His love.

Jesus is for everyone. Amen

First reading

1 Kings 11:4-13
‘The half was not told me’

When Solomon grew old his wives swayed his heart to other gods; and his heart was not wholly with the Lord his God as his father David’s had been. Solomon became a follower of Astarte, the goddess of the Sidonians, and of Milcom, the Ammonite abomination. He did what was displeasing to the Lord, and was not a wholehearted follower of the Lord, as his father David had been. Then it was that Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the god of Moab on the mountain to the east of Jerusalem, and to Milcom the god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrifice to their gods.
The Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned from the Lord the God of Israel who had twice appeared to him and who had then forbidden him to follow other gods; but he did not carry out the Lord’s order. The Lord therefore said to Solomon, ‘Since you behave like this and do not keep my covenant or the laws I laid down for you, I will most surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. For your father David’s sake, however, I will not do this during your lifetime, but will tear it out of your son’s hands. Even so, I will not tear the whole kingdom from him. For the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen, I will leave your son one tribe.’

Gospel

Mark 7:24-30
The astuteness of the Syro-Phoenician woman

Jesus left Gennesaret and set out for the territory of Tyre. There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not pass unrecognised. A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him straightaway and came and fell at his feet. Now the woman was a pagan, by birth a Syrophoenician, and she begged him to cast the devil out of her daughter. And he said to her, ‘The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ But she spoke up: ‘Ah yes, sir,’ she replied ‘but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps.’ And he said to her, ‘For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter.’ So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 12, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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A Christian must always and everywhere reflect the heart of God in all that is said and done. There cannot be any or slightest form of duplicity.

For whether we like it or not, want it or not, people are watching our every move; hanging on our every word. And No this is not paranoia but a simple reality. They look to see from afar what we say and do both in church and outside of church. One clearest example is social media, like Facebook and Instagram. There are lurkers who will not like, dislike or comment but are watching what we post, and what we comment on the post of others. And so we have the power to evangelise the faith we hold dear, by the way we live our lives; bringing glory to our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ or by our own choosing bring forth scandal, disarray and dismay by failing to live our Lord’s Kingdom values.

Let us then hold fast to our Lord Jesus’s commandment. To love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, strength and soul. And to love one another as He had loved us. Then our light will break forth like the dawn, and our healing will quickly appear; then our righteousness will go before us, and the glory of the LORD will be our rear guard. Is 58:8

First reading

1 Kings 10:1-10 ·
Solomon prays to the Lord in the Temple

The fame of Solomon having reached the queen of Sheba, she came to test him with difficult questions. She brought immense riches to Jerusalem with her, camels laden with spices, great quantities of gold, and precious stones. On coming to Solomon, she opened her mind freely to him; and Solomon had an answer for all her questions, not one of them was too obscure for the king to expound. When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, the food at his table, the accommodation for his officials, the organisation of his staff and the way they were dressed, his cup-bearers, and the holocausts he offered in the Temple of the Lord, it left her breathless, and she said to the king, ‘What I heard in my own country about you and your wisdom was true, then! Until I came and saw it with my own eyes I could not believe what they told me, but clearly they told me less than half: for wisdom and prosperity you surpass the report I heard. How happy your wives are! How happy are these servants of yours who wait on you always and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God who has granted you his favour, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord’s everlasting love for Israel, he has made you king to deal out law and justice.’ And she presented the king with a hundred and twenty talents of gold and great quantities of spices and precious stones; no such wealth of spices ever came again as those given to King Solomon by the queen of Sheba.

Gospel

Mark 7:14-23
It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean

Jesus called the people to him and said, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.’
When he had gone back into the house, away from the crowd, his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, ‘Do you not understand either? Can you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot make him unclean, because it does not go into his heart but through his stomach and passes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he pronounced all foods clean.) And he went on, ‘It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean. For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 11, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Prayer is a means by which we unite ourselves most fully with the Lord our God. We listen intently for His will for us as we share our struggles and lift up our intentions. We fall into His loving embrace and by His grace we are transformed, strengthened and emboldened to go forth to touch others by our lives in His love.

What good are our prayers if we are not changed from within? If we are not contrite, merciful or loving towards others? If we entertain grandeur thoughts that we are above others; that all we say, do and instuct others is for their good and the good of all! Let us ask ourselves then have we acted in the humble servitude of the Lord our God and our brethren? Have they drawn closer to Him by our words and actions? Have we laid down our lives for Him and brethren.

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 1 Cor 13:11. I am now a man of God, therefore my love and actions must reflect the image of God my Father, creator of Heaven and earth through Christ my Lord. Amen

First reading

1 Kings 8:22-23,27-30 ·

‘Listen to the prayer your servant makes in this place’

In the presence of the whole assembly of Israel, Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord and, stretching out his hands towards heaven, said, ‘O Lord, God of Israel, not in heaven above nor on earth beneath is there such a God as you, true to your covenant and your kindness towards your servants when they walk wholeheartedly in your way. Yet will God really live with men on the earth? Why, the heavens and their own heavens cannot contain you. How much less this house that I have built! Listen to the prayer and entreaty of your servant, O Lord my God; listen to the cry and to the prayer your servant makes to you today. Day and night let your eyes watch over this house, over this place of which you have said, “My name shall be there.” Listen to the prayer that your servant will offer in this place.

‘Hear the entreaty of your servant and of Israel your people as they pray in this place. From heaven where your dwelling is, hear; and, as you hear, forgive.’

Gospel

Mark 7:1-13

You get round the commandment of God to preserve your own tradition

The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture:

This people honours me only with lip-service,
while their hearts are far from me.
The worship they offer me is worthless,
the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.

You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’ And he said to them, ‘How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death. But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Corban (that is, dedicated to God), then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother.” In this way you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 10, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Does Jesus dwell in your home? Do you have an altar set up where you can come into His presence in prayer? Or is it simply a beautiful showpiece. How can you tell if the Lord is truly present? There will be peace and joy at home.

With that peace and joy in our hearts we carry Jesus with us wherever we go. So others too can experience the same peace and joy. Through our prayers we witness His healing grace upon those who have asked us to pray or for whom we have prayed for without being asked. Through faith we have been healed, through faith we bring forth the message of salvation of the world through Christ our Lord. Amen

First reading

1 Kings 8:1-7,9-13 ·
The Ark of the Covenant is brought into the Temple

Solomon called the elders of Israel together in Jerusalem to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up from the Citadel of David, which is Zion. All the men of Israel assembled round King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, at the time of the feast (that is, the seventh month), and the priests took up the ark and the Tent of Meeting with all the sacred vessels that were in it. In the presence of the ark, King Solomon and all Israel sacrificed sheep and oxen, countless, innumerable. The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the Debir of the Temple, that is, in the Holy of Holies, under the cherubs’ wings. For there where the ark was placed the cherubs spread out their wings and sheltered the ark and its shafts. There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had placed in it at Horeb, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord had made with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt; they are still there today.
Now when the priests came out of the sanctuary, the cloud filled the Temple of the Lord, and because of the cloud the priests could no longer perform their duties: the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s Temple.
Then Solomon said:

‘The Lord has chosen to dwell in the thick cloud. Yes, I have built you a dwelling,
a place for you to live in for ever.’

Gospel

Mark 6:53-56
All those who touched him were cured

Having made the crossing, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up. No sooner had they stepped out of the boat than people recognised him, and started hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were cured.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 8, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Even today we are in great need of leaders and shepherds after the heart of Jesus to step up to lead and care for the flock. Many who are capable would rather be a follower than a leader. For they feel it is too daunting a task for them.

We must come to the realisation that we have an all powerful God and that if we seek first His Kingdom and righteousness all else will be added on. We only need to discern His will for us and go in faith to love and serve Him and our brethren.

Lord Jesus grant me a discerning heart to know always Your will for me. Amen

First reading

1 Kings 3:4-13
Solomon chooses the gift of wisdom

King Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, since that was the greatest of the high places – Solomon offered a thousand holocausts on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared in a dream to Solomon during the night. God said, ‘Ask what you would like me to give you.’ Solomon replied, ‘You showed great kindness to your servant David, my father, when he lived his life before you in faithfulness and justice and integrity of heart; you have continued this great kindness to him by allowing a son of his to sit on his throne today. Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in succession to David my father. But I am a very young man, unskilled in leadership. Your servant finds himself in the midst of this people of yours that you have chosen, a people so many its number cannot be counted or reckoned. Give your servant a heart to understand how to discern between good and evil, for who could govern this people of yours that is so great?’ It pleased the Lord that Solomon should have asked for this. ‘Since you have asked for this’ the Lord said ‘and not asked for long life for yourself or riches or the lives of your enemies, but have asked for a discerning judgement for yourself, here and now I do what you ask. I give you a heart wise and shrewd as none before you has had and none will have after you. What you have not asked I shall give you too: such riches and glory as no other king ever had.’

Gospel

Mark 6:30-34
They were like sheep without a shepherd

The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. So they went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But people saw them going, and many could guess where; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 7, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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St John the Baptist lost his head in the service and glory of God and was said to have ‘risen’ from the dead by the very one who commanded his beheading. Isn’t that ironic? More so in that Herod had proclaimed an actual truth for we know that St John the Baptist is indeed in the presence of the Lord our God even though everyone else was referring to Jesus present in that time. Yet another irony is that Herod was the one in actual fact who lost his head! In moments of weakness, but then again for all eternity. For what does it profit a man that he shall gain the whole world but loses his soul? Mark 8:36

Men and women after the heart of God will strive always, everywhere to give thanks, praise and glory to the Lord our God. For they know in their hearts His great mercy and love had been outpoured upon them each and every time they had turned back to Him with contrite hearts. They love more for their many sins have been forgiven. (Lk 7:47) And they rely not on their own strengths but call upon the Lord who hears His Faithful. Therefore they are able to do great things in His name for His Kingdom and their brethren.

With ever grateful and loving hearts let us sing hymns of praise to God our creator. Let us adore and worship Him with one voice. Now and forever. Amen

First reading

Ecclesiasticus 47:2-13
David sang out of love for his Maker

As the fat is set apart from the communion sacrifice, so David was chosen out of all the sons of Israel.
He played with lions as though with kids, and with bears as though with lambs of the flock.
While still a boy, did he not slay the giant, and relieve the people of their shame, by putting out a hand to sling a stone which brought down the arrogance of Goliath?
For he called on the Lord Most High, who gave strength to his right arm to put a mighty warrior to death, and lift up the horn of his people.
Hence they gave him credit for ten thousand, and praised him while they blessed the Lord, by offering him a crown of glory; for he massacred enemies on every side, he annihilated his foes the Philistines, and crushed their horn to this very day.
In all his activities he gave thanks to the Holy One, the Most High, in words of glory; he put all his heart into his songs out of love for his Maker.
He placed harps before the altar to make the singing sweeter with their music; he gave the feasts their splendour,
the festivals their solemn pomp,
causing the Lord’s holy name to be praised and the sanctuary to resound from dawn.
The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his horn for ever; he gave him a royal covenant, and a glorious throne in Israel.

Gospel

Mark 6:14-29
The beheading of John the Baptist

King Herod had heard about Jesus, since by now his name was well known. Some were saying, ‘John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’ Others said, ‘He is Elijah’; others again, ‘He is a prophet, like the prophets we used to have.’ But when Herod heard this he said, ‘It is John whose head I cut off; he has risen from the dead.’
Now it was this same Herod who had sent to have John arrested, and had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod, ‘It is against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.’ As for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to, because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him.
An opportunity came on Herod’s birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee. When the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and his guests; so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ The girl hurried straight back to the king and made her request, ‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head, here and now, on a dish.’ The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to her. So the king at once sent one of the bodyguard with orders to bring John’s head. The man went off and beheaded him in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 6, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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I have pondered over what final message I could possibly convey to my children, two boys and a girl on my deathbed that would be meaningful and impactful. Would I share the lessons I’ve learnt through often painful life experiences? Should I share the top ten mistakes to avoid and then the top ten right choices to make?

Nay! There is no greater message than that of God’s unending love for us. How we must truly love Him above all, with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. To keep His commandments and to teach others to do the same.

Then I came to the realisation that pondering over what to say at my deathbed was not only foolish but outright ridiculous! This all important message of God’s love and love of God, is not only for my children, or children’s children; but for everyone and now! It is best conveyed through a life lived fully in the presence of my Lord and God. Not by speech alone but through my hands and feet put into action for love of Him and love of brethren.

Let your Word Lord be a lamp unto my feet. Amen

St Paul Miki and companions pray for us…..

First reading

1 Kings 2:1-4,10-12
David’s dying exhortation to Solomon

As David’s life drew to its close he laid this charge on his son Solomon, ‘I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong and show yourself a man. Observe the injunctions of the Lord your God, following his ways and keeping his laws, his commandments, his customs and his decrees, as it stands written in the Law of Moses, that so you may be successful in all you do and undertake, so that the Lord may fulfil the promise he made me, “If your sons are careful how they behave, and walk loyally before me with all their heart and soul, you shall never lack for a man on the throne of Israel.”’would
So David slept with his ancestors and was buried in the Citadel of David. David’s reign over Israel lasted forty years: he reigned in Hebron for seven years, and in Jerusalem for thirty-three.
Solomon was seated upon the throne of David, and his sovereignty was securely established.

Gospel

Mark 6:7-13
‘Take nothing with you’

Jesus made a tour round the villages, teaching. Then he summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.’ And he said to them, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 5, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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I cannot hope to build God’s kingdom if I am in charge. Everything I say or do will be a calculated cost. Before embarking on any endeavour I will need to know the numbers, the time needed, the people and the budget in place before considering whether or not to proceed as planned. There is indeed nothing wrong with being prudent except when prudence alone is what prevents us from achieving great things for our Lord. The question at the very beginning for any endeavour for our Lord must be who is in charge? If we say the Lord our God is in charge then where is our faith? Have we prayed fervently as to discern His will for us? Having discerned are we then ready to face unafraid any and all challenges ahead?

Our faith therefore is not one of presuppositions, but one that comes from the heart of our God. In knowing without reservation that we are children so loved by God our Heavenly Father. Through His Son our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ we enter into eternal sonship and daughterhood. By our ever loving and growing relationship with Him we are able build up His Kingdom; through Him, with Him and in Him.

Where are you in you faith journey? Do you know about Jesus? Or do you know Him in a deep personal familial way and more!

St Agatha pray for us….

First reading

2 Samuel 24:2,8-17
David takes the guilt on himself to save Israel

King David said to Joab and to the senior army officers who were with him, ‘Now go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and take a census of the people; I wish to know the size of the population.’ Having covered the whole country, they returned to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. Joab gave the king the figures for the census of the people; Israel numbered eight hundred thousand armed men capable of drawing sword, and Judah five hundred thousand men.
But afterwards David’s heart misgave him for having taken a census of the people. ‘I have committed a grave sin’ David said to the Lord. ‘But now, Lord, I beg you to forgive your servant for this fault. I have been very foolish.’ But when David got up next morning, the following message had come from the Lord to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, ‘Go and say to David, “The Lord says this: I offer you three things; choose one of them for me to do to you.”’
So Gad went to David and told him. ‘Are three years of famine to come on you in your country’ he said ‘or will you flee for three months before your pursuing enemy, or would you rather have three days’ pestilence in your country? Now think, and decide how I am to answer him who sends me.’ David said to Gad, ‘This is a hard choice. But let us rather fall into the power of the Lord, since his mercy is great, and not into the power of men.’ So David chose pestilence.
It was the time of the wheat harvest. The Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning till the time appointed and plague ravaged the people, and from Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of them died. The angel stretched out his hand towards Jerusalem to destroy it, but the Lord thought better of this evil, and he said to the angel who was destroying the people, ‘Enough! Now withdraw your hand.’ The angel of the Lord was beside the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. When David saw the angel who was ravaging the people, he spoke to the Lord. ‘It was I who sinned;’ he said ‘I who did this wicked thing. But these, this flock, what have they done? Let your hand lie heavy on me then, and on my family.’

Gospel

Mark 6:1-6
‘A prophet is only despised in his own country’

Jesus went to his home town and his disciples accompanied him. With the coming of the sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they heard him. They said, ‘Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house’; and he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

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