We don’t really know how blessed we are until we reflect back on our lives, the challenges we had faced, the trials we had gone through; and recollect just how good and faithful the Lord our God has been throughout the years. He was with us through it all!

Ever since the very beginning He has kept His promises, and each and every promise has been fulfilled through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Truly the Lord remembers His covenant!

Likewise we are called to be faithful. How does our faithfulness in the Lord our God show? By our fruits! The love that others have experienced and felt through our service and sacrifice for love of them. How we bring the presence and peace of the Lord Jesus with us wherever we go. Amen

Saint Irenaeus pray for us…

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First reading

Genesis 15:1-12,17-18 ·

Count the stars: such shall be your descendants

It happened that the word of the Lord was spoken to Abram in a vision, ‘Have no fear, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great.’

    ‘My Lord,’ Abram replied ‘what do you intend to give me? I go childless…’. Then Abram said, ‘See, you have given me no descendants; some man of my household will be my heir.’ And then this word of the Lord was spoken to him, ‘He shall not be your heir; your heir shall be of your own flesh and blood.’ Then taking him outside he said, ‘Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can. Such will be your descendants’ he told him. Abram put his faith in the Lord, who counted this as making him justified.

    ‘I am the Lord’ he said to him ‘who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldaeans to make you heir to this land.’ ‘My Lord,’ Abram replied ‘how am I to know that I shall inherit it?’ He said to him, ‘Get me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.’ He brought him all these, cut them in half and put half on one side and half facing it on the other; but the birds he did not cut in half. Birds of prey came down on the carcases but Abram drove them off.

    Now as the sun was setting Abram fell into a deep sleep, and terror seized him. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, there appeared a smoking furnace and a firebrand that went between the halves. That day the Lord made a Covenant with Abram in these terms:

‘To your descendants I give this land,

from the wadi of Egypt to the Great River,

the river Euphrates.’

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Gospel

Matthew 7:15-20

You will be able to tell them by their fruits

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits. Can people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, a sound tree produces good fruit but a rotten tree bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit. Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire. I repeat, you will be able to tell them by their fruits.’

What riches, wealth or property is there that is greater than to live in the presence of the living God who gave us life? We may have nothing to our name but the Lord with us, who can be against us?

Evidence of His presence living with us is seen in how we love our brethren and one another. It is felt in how we treat one another; with honour and respect, as if the very person before us was Christ Himself!

Lead me through the narrow gate Lord for I follow after You. Amen

Saint Cyril of Alexandria pray for us…

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First reading

Genesis 13:2,5-18 ·

Abram settles in the land of Canaan and builds an altar to the Lord

Abram was a very rich man, with livestock, silver and gold. Lot, who was travelling with Abram, had flocks and cattle of his own, and tents too. The land was not sufficient to accommodate them both at once, for they had too many possessions to be able to live together. Dispute broke out between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and those of Lot’s. (The Canaanites and the Perizzites were then living in the land.) Accordingly Abram said to Lot, ‘Let there be no dispute between me and you, nor between my herdsmen and yours, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land open before you? Part company with me: if you take the left, I will go right; if you take the right, I will go left.’

    Looking round, Lot saw all the Jordan plain, irrigated everywhere – this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah – like the garden of the Lord or the land of Egypt, as far as Zoar. So Lot chose all the Jordan plain for himself and moved off eastwards. Thus they parted company: Abram settled in the land of Canaan; Lot settled among the towns of the plain, pitching his tents on the outskirts of Sodom. Now the people of Sodom were vicious men, great sinners against the Lord.

    The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted company with him, ‘Look all round from where you are towards the north and the south, towards the east and the west. All the land within sight I will give to you and your descendants for ever. I will make your descendants like the dust on the ground: when men succeed in counting the specks of dust on the ground, then they will be able to count your descendants! Come, travel through the length and breadth of the land, for I mean to give it to you.’

    So Abram went with his tents to settle at the Oak of Mamre, at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

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Gospel

Matthew 7:6,12-14

Treat others as you would like them to treat you

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls in front of pigs, or they may trample them and then turn on you and tear you to pieces.

    ‘So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.

    ‘Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to perdition is wide and spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.’

Surrendering at any age is difficult to say the least! You have your pride, and your iron will to contend with in your youth. Then as you age you have set ways and comfort zones. As you become old, you have physical and mental limitations. But why must it be so difficult when the person you are surrendering to is Your creator who loves you beyond measure? It is not like you have anything to lose but rather have everything to gain.

Perhaps the question is really about how intimate are you in your relationship with the Lord Your God? What faith and trust do you have in Him? Do you not marvel at the faith and trust Abram had in the Lord His God at seventy-five?!

Recently I was heartbroken to see the changes that had taken place in the ministry I had served in, years ago. The members now seem aloof, cold and simply carrying out their duty like robotic dispensers! Today’s Gospel reminds that I should not judge, no matter how sad and sorry it looks. My only job is to glorify the Lord by my own life and the way I lead it for His greater glory. He will make crooked lines straight in His own time.

Forgive me Lord and help me see everyone through Your loving eyes. Amen

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First reading

Genesis 12:1-9 ·

‘Leave your country, your family, and your father’s house’

The Lord said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your family and your father’s house, for the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as a blessing.

‘I will bless those who bless you:

I will curse those who slight you.

All the tribes of the earth

shall bless themselves by you.’

So Abram went as the Lord told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had amassed and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set off for the land of Canaan, and arrived there.

    Abram passed through the land as far as Shechem’s holy place, the Oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘It is to your descendants that I will give this land.’ So Abram built there an altar for the Lord who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the mountainous district east of Bethel, where he pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. Then Abram made his way stage by stage to the Negeb.

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Gospel

Matthew 7:1-5

Do not judge, and you will not be judged

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; because the judgements you give are the judgements you will get, and the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How dare you say to your brother, “Let me take the splinter out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye.’

An old song comes to mind even though it was released years before I was born on trying to get an answer or rather a peek into the future. ‘Que Sera Sera’ made popular by Doris Day. Question asked by the children was what will I be? And the answer from the mother was “Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future’s not ours to see. Que sera, sera. What will be, will be.

What if I told you that the Lord our God has already revealed His plan for you?

“As for you, little child, you shall be called a prophet of God, the Most High. You shall go ahead of the Lord to prepare his ways before him.” Lk 1:76 Today’s first reading ends with “I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Oh, but this passage is about St John the Baptist or even Jesus Himself! Well let’s hear what our Lord says about it to you then, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matt 5:14

We are the new heralds for the Lord of lords, King of kings, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! We are sent to cast out demons, heal the sick in Jesus’s name. Mark 16:17-18 For we are children of God our Heavenly Father empowered by the grace of His Son to reconcile all those scattered by the deceiver, and to bring them back unto Him.

So while we celebrate the birthday of St John the Baptist, let us also celebrate our own birth through the waters of our Baptism. Come Holy Spirit fall afresh on us! Amen

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First reading

Isaiah 49:1-6 ·

I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth

Islands, listen to me,

pay attention, remotest peoples.

The Lord called me before I was born,

from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name.

He made my mouth a sharp sword,

and hid me in the shadow of his hand.

He made me into a sharpened arrow,

and concealed me in his quiver.

He said to me, ‘You are my servant (Israel)

in whom I shall be glorified’;

while I was thinking, ‘I have toiled in vain,

I have exhausted myself for nothing’;

and all the while my cause was with the Lord,

my reward with my God.

I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord,

my God was my strength.

And now the Lord has spoken,

he who formed me in the womb to be his servant,

to bring Jacob back to him,

to gather Israel to him:

‘It is not enough for you to be my servant,

to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel;

I will make you the light of the nations

so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’

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Second reading

Acts 13:22-26 ·

Jesus, whose coming was heralded by John

Paul said: ‘God deposed Saul and made David their king, of whom he approved in these words, “I have selected David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will carry out my whole purpose.” To keep his promise, God has raised up for Israel one of David’s descendants, Jesus, as Saviour, whose coming was heralded by John when he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel. Before John ended his career he said, “I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.”

    ‘My brothers, sons of Abraham’s race, and all you who fear God, this message of salvation is meant for you.’

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Gospel

Luke 1:57-66,80

‘His name is John’

The time came for Elizabeth to have her child, and she gave birth to a son; and when her neighbours and relations heard that the Lord had shown her so great a kindness, they shared her joy.

    Now on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother spoke up. ‘No,’ she said ‘he is to be called John.’ They said to her, ‘But no one in your family has that name’, and made signs to his father to find out what he wanted him called. The father asked for a writing-tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they were all astonished. At that instant his power of speech returned and he spoke and praised God. All their neighbours were filled with awe and the whole affair was talked about throughout the hill country of Judaea. All those who heard of it treasured it in their hearts. ‘What will this child turn out to be?’ they wondered. And indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.

    Meanwhile the child grew up and his spirit matured. And he lived out in the wilderness until the day he appeared openly to Israel.

I am recovering from a bad case of food poisoning which left me in constant pain and lethargy. In fact, I struggled and pushed myself to reflect on the word and share even though I just wanted to curl up and sleep. As I reflect on today’s first reading I feel a little ashamed, that what I have gone through, is so far from what St Paul suffered for Christ and His Gospel message.

What about the constant battle against sin in our lives? In our struggle against sin, we have not yet resisted to the point of shedding our blood! Heb 12:4

For if we have, then indeed we have life and to the full in Jesus Christ our Lord.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full says the Lord.” Jn 10:10

Lord Jesus You alone are my treasure! Amen

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First reading

2 Corinthians 11:18,21-30

If I am to boast, let me boast of my own feebleness

So many others have been boasting of their worldly achievements, that I will boast myself. But if anyone wants some brazen speaking – I am still talking as a fool – then I can be as brazen as any of them, and about the same things. Hebrews, are they? So am I. Israelites? So am I. Descendants of Abraham? So am I. The servants of Christ? I must be mad to say this, but so am I, and more than they: more, because I have worked harder, I have been sent to prison more often, and whipped many times more, often almost to death. Five times I had the thirty-nine lashes from the Jews; three times I have been beaten with sticks; once I was stoned; three times I have been shipwrecked and once adrift in the open sea for a night and a day. Constantly travelling, I have been in danger from rivers and in danger from brigands, in danger from my own people and in danger from pagans; in danger in the towns, in danger in the open country, danger at sea and danger from so-called brothers. I have worked and laboured, often without sleep; I have been hungry and thirsty and often starving; I have been in the cold without clothes. And, to leave out much more, there is my daily preoccupation: my anxiety for all the churches. When any man has had scruples, I have had scruples with him; when any man is made to fall, I am tortured.

    If I am to boast, then let me boast of my own feebleness.

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Gospel

Matthew 6:19-23

Store up treasure for yourselves in heaven

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and woodworms destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworms destroy them and thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

    ‘The lamp of the body is the eye. It follows that if your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be all darkness. If then, the light inside you is darkness, what darkness that will be!’

St Paul in today’s first reading encourages us to be chaste, pure and faithful to the Gospel which gives us life! Just as Christ Jesus has come to give us His bride, life and life to the full!

Forgiveness is met with forgiveness for our many heinous sins against the Lord our God, withhold forgiveness and we withhold the life we are meant to have in Him.

Let us meditate on the our Father taught us by our Lord,

‘Our Beloved Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms, may the glory of your name be the center on which our lives turn. Manifest your kingdom realm, and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is in heaven. We acknowledge you as our Provider of all we need each day. Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us. Rescue us every time we face tribulation and set us free from evil. For you are the King who rules with power and glory forever. Amen.’ Matt 6:9-13 TPT

Saints John Fisher, Bishop, and Thomas More, Saint Paulinus of Nola, Bishop pray for us…

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First reading

2 Corinthians 11:1-11

I was careful not to be a burden to you in any way

I only wish you were able to tolerate a little foolishness from me. But of course: you are tolerant towards me. You see, the jealousy that I feel for you is God’s own jealousy: I arranged for you to marry Christ so that I might give you away as a chaste virgin to this one husband. But the serpent, with his cunning, seduced Eve, and I am afraid that in the same way your ideas may get corrupted and turned away from simple devotion to Christ. Because any new-comer has only to proclaim a new Jesus, different from the one that we preached, or you have only to receive a new spirit, different from the one you have already received, or a new gospel, different from the one you have already accepted – and you welcome it with open arms. As far as I can tell, these arch-apostles have nothing more than I have. I may not be a polished speechmaker, but as for knowledge, that is a different matter; surely we have made this plain, speaking on every subject in front of all of you.

    Or was I wrong, lowering myself so as to lift you high, by preaching the gospel of God to you and taking no fee for it? I was robbing other churches, living on them so that I could serve you. When I was with you and ran out of money, I was no burden to anyone; the brothers who came from Macedonia provided me with everything I wanted. I was very careful, and I always shall be, not to be a burden to you in any way, and by Christ’s truth in me, this cause of boasting will never be taken from me in the regions of Achaia. Would I do that if I did not love you? God knows I do.

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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.’

For those who have gone through poverty and hardship and have come out of it, are generally far more generous than those who have and had everything they needed from the very beginning.

My own mother is one such individual who struggled with poverty growing up. And I am very much in awe of her generosity with the strangers that has come our way over the years. From the waiters, cleaners, garbage disposal men, nurses, just about anyone regardless of age, language or religion. If not money, she would offer them food and drink. Is she a saint? Well no! She has a fiery temper! But at the same time, she possesses a heart of gold for those who are in need. She loves them after the heart of Christ and shows great affection for the poor and the downtrodden. Is my mom perfect? Well I would simply say, that she has a great desire to be perfected through Jesus Christ our Lord, and entrusts herself to the intercession of His mother whom she has a special devotion to. I pray that I can be half as generous as she is! And endeavour to do better as time goes by.

Lord Jesus we thank You for all Your disciples whom we have encountered, who are inspirations for us to love others as You do. Teach and show us the way to love everyone with Your love, let us love them in the perfect love of God our Heavenly Father. Amen

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First reading

2 Corinthians 8:1-9 ·

The Lord Jesus was rich but became poor for your sake

Now here, brothers, is the news of the grace of God which was given in the churches in Macedonia; and of how, throughout great trials by suffering, their constant cheerfulness and their intense poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity. I can swear that they gave not only as much as they could afford, but far more, and quite spontaneously, begging and begging us for the favour of sharing in this service to the saints and, what was quite unexpected, they offered their own selves first to God and, under God, to us.

    Because of this, we have asked Titus, since he has already made a beginning, to bring this work of mercy to the same point of success among you. You always have the most of everything – of faith, of eloquence, of understanding, of keenness for any cause, and the biggest share of our affection – so we expect you to put the most into this work of mercy too. It is not an order that I am giving you; I am just testing the genuineness of your love against the keenness of others. Remember how generous the Lord Jesus was: he was rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty.

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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.’

We are saints in the making are we not? Well, the code of conduct for a saint can be found in today’s first reading! As much as I would like to say we will all surely get there, the truth is that unless we are prepared to suffer; surrender fully to the will of the Lord our God, renounce ourselves and take up our cross then we will hardly make any headway. We need to live in the power of the Holy Spirit everyday of our lives for the endurance needed to run the race.

Impossible? NO! For nothing is impossible for the Lord our God. We have everything we need in Him, so let us stay the course!

Your word is a lamp for my steps Lord and a light for my path. Amen

Saint Philip Minh, Priest, and Companions pray for us… 

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First reading

2 Corinthians 6:1-10 ·

How we prove that we are God’s servants

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.

    We do nothing that people might object to, so as not to bring discredit on our function as God’s servants. Instead, we prove we are servants of God by great fortitude in times of suffering: in times of hardship and distress; when we are flogged, or sent to prison, or mobbed; labouring, sleepless, starving. We prove we are God’s servants by our purity, knowledge, patience and kindness; by a spirit of holiness, by a love free from affectation; by the word of truth and by the power of God; by being armed with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left, prepared for honour or disgrace, for blame or praise; taken for impostors while we are genuine; obscure yet famous; said to be dying and here are we alive; rumoured to be executed before we are sentenced; thought most miserable and yet we are always rejoicing; taken for paupers though we make others rich, for people having nothing though we have everything.

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Gospel

Matthew 5:38-42

Offer the wicked man no resistance

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.’

How blessed are we to have a loving Father in Heaven who is slow to anger, compassionate and kind to all His children. So loved He the world that He gave us His only begotten Son so that the world might be reconciled unto to Him.

We have a beautiful sacrament given to us by Jesus to that we might know we are forgiven and set free through His powerful grace in the Sacrament of reconciliation. Yet how many of us go regularly to be forgiven by Jesus Himself in this Holy Sacrament. A disciple of Christ knows that without proper reconciliation with the Lord our God, we cannot serve Him as we ought to neither can we truly be free to love our brethren the way we should. That is fully through His love and a grace filled life!

Let us pray for the intercession of our Blessed Mother who in today’s Gospel, shows us that upset as she was with Jesus worrying her and Joseph. She was slow to anger, compassionate and kind. She carried the heart of God our Heavenly Father with her. And dwelled in His love remembering His goodness in her life.

Immaculate Heart of Mary pray for us…Amen

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First reading

2 Corinthians 5:14-21 ·

From now onwards we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh

The love of Christ overwhelms us when we reflect that if one man has died for all, then all men should be dead; and the reason he died for all was so that living men should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life for them.

    From now onwards, therefore, we do not judge anyone by the standards of the flesh. Even if we did once know Christ in the flesh, that is not how we know him now. And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation. In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men’s faults against them, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. So 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.

Gospel

Luke 2:41-51

Mary stored up all these things in her heart

Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.

    Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’

    ‘Why were you looking for me?’ he replied. ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant.

    He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. His mother stored up all these things in her heart.

How can we say we do not know the heart of the Lord our God? When all barriers have been taken down through the life, death and resurrection of God’s only begotten Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Through our baptism we have been consecrated to the Lord our God and are intimately One with Him, He dwells in our hearts just as we dwell in His. Our once restless hearts now rest in Him and we have hope of eternal life with Him.

And again for love of us, His laws are written on hearts. By living an ordered life according to His Will for us, we are beacons of His glory. We are His light in the world shining brightly before all, so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Heavenly Father.

To Jesus’ Heart, all burning

with fervent love for men,

my heart with fondest yearning

shall rise its joyful strain.

While ages course along,

blest be with loudest song

the Sacred Heart of Jesus

by ev’ry heart and tongue.

O Heart, for men on fire

with love no man can speak,

my yet untold desire

God gives me for thy sake.

Too true, I have forsaken

thy love for wilful sin;

yet now let me be taken

back by thy grace again.

As thou art meek and lowly,

and ever pure of heart,

so may my heart be wholly

of thine the counterpart.

When life is flying,

and earth’s false glare is done:

still, Sacred Heart, in dying,

I’ll say I’m all thine own.

(TO JESUS’ HEART, ALL BURNING (HYMN)

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus pray for us…

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First reading

Deuteronomy 7:6-11 ·

The Lord set his heart on you and chose you

Moses said to the people: ‘You are a people consecrated to the Lord your God; it is you that the Lord our God has chosen to be his very own people out of all the peoples on the earth.

    ‘If the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, it was not because you outnumbered other peoples: you were the least of all peoples. It was for love of you and to keep the oath he swore to your fathers that the Lord brought you out with his mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know then that the Lord your God is God indeed, the faithful God who is true to his covenant and his graciousness for a thousand generations towards those who love him and keep his commandments, but who punishes in their own persons those that hate him. He is not slow to destroy the man who hates him; he makes him work out his punishment in person. You are therefore to keep and observe the commandments and statutes and ordinances that I lay down for you today.’

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Second reading

1 John 4:7-16 ·

Let us love one another, since love comes from God

My dear people,

let us love one another

since love comes from God

and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,

because God is love.

God’s love for us was revealed

when God sent into the world his only Son

so that we could have life through him;

this is the love I mean:

not our love for God,

but God’s love for us when he sent his Son

to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.

My dear people,

since God has loved us so much,

we too should love one another.

No one has ever seen God;

but as long as we love one another

God will live in us

and his love will be complete in us.

We can know that we are living in him

and he is living in us

because he lets us share his Spirit.

We ourselves saw and we testify

that the Father sent his Son

as saviour of the world.

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,

God lives in him, and he in God.

We ourselves have known and put our faith in

God’s love towards ourselves.

God is love

and anyone who lives in love lives in God,

and God lives in him.

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Gospel

Matthew 11:25-30

You have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children

Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

    ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’

When the same message is repeated by the Lord, it would be wise for us to take heed. The day before yesterday, Jesus reminded us that we are the light of the world and our light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing our good works, they may give the praise to our Father in heaven. Yesterday’s reflection on the readings gave us the assurance that the veil separating us from God our Father had been torn and we are given the opportunity to have a deep intimate relationship with the Lord our God!

His law has been written on our hearts, we know them just as we know Him who loves us so! Today we are reminded as well as warned not to take His love for us for granted; by allowing the veil of sin and unforgiveness to separate from God our Heavenly Father. It is the Gospel that keeps us rooted to Him, by choosing Him always through filial piety and steadfastness; through His word, prayer and almsgiving our unveiled faces will reflect the brightness of the Lord. We become One with and in Him.

Let the glory of the Lord dwell in our land, as we radiate the light of Christ on our faces. Amen

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First reading

2 Corinthians 3:15-4:1,3-6 ·

The veil over their eyes will not be removed until they turn to the Lord

Even today, whenever Moses is read, the veil is over their minds. It will not be removed until they turn to the Lord. Now this Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, with our unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image that we reflect; this is the work of the Lord who is Spirit.

    Since we have by an act of mercy been entrusted with this work of administration, there is no weakening on our part. If our gospel does not penetrate the veil, then the veil is on those who are not on the way to salvation; the unbelievers whose minds the god of this world has blinded, to stop them seeing the light shed by the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For it is not ourselves that we are preaching, but Christ Jesus as the Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. It is the same God that said, ‘Let there be light shining out of darkness’, who has shone in our minds to radiate the light of the knowledge of God’s glory, the glory on the face of Christ.

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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.’

Yesterday I mentioned that if we are true followers of Christ Jesus our Lord, then there is no switching off the light of Christ we carry within us. Today in the readings we learn that we have no excuse to say we did not know any better than to fall into any form of sin! For the laws of God has been written on our hearts, He is our God and we are His people.

Through Jesus our Lord the veil has been torn and we see Him face to face. How wonderful indeed to have such intimacy with the Lord our God. We are no longer servants but He calls us friends! We are no longer slaves to fear, we are children of God our Heavenly Father!

And so if we are ever tempted to stray, perhaps we should recall the deep, meaningful words of St Peter in Jn 6:68 when he answered Jesus, ““Lord, to whom shall we go? You [alone] have the words of eternal life [you are our only hope].” Amen

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First reading

2 Corinthians 3:4-11

The new covenant is a covenant of the Spirit

Before God, we are confident of this through Christ: not that we are qualified in ourselves to claim anything as our own work: all our qualifications come from God. He is the one who has given us the qualifications to be the administrators of this new covenant, which is not a covenant of written letters but of the Spirit: the written letters bring death, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the administering of death, in the written letters engraved on stones, was accompanied by such a brightness that the Israelites could not bear looking at the face of Moses, though it was a brightness that faded, then how much greater will be the brightness that surrounds the administering of the Spirit! For if there was any splendour in administering condemnation, there must be very much greater splendour in administering justification. In fact, compared with this greater splendour, the thing that used to have such splendour now seems to have none; and if what was so temporary had any splendour, there must be much more in what is going to last for ever.

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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.’

There is no switching off the light as we please, when it the light of Christ we carry with us. Therefore, we must strive at all times for holiness, we cannot afford to lose our tempers through impatience or allow anyone or anything to trigger rage within us. We must speak the peace of Christ into any situation even if we are on the receiving end of an injustice or aggressive behaviour towards us.

Let us call upon the Holy Spirit for His wisdom, guide and good counsel. We can also ask our Blessed Mother to intercede of us as she prays for the gift fortitude for us. Through a steadfast spirit in Christ Jesus our Lord, may we perform such good works which is seen by all and that they may give praise to our Father in heaven. Amen

Saint Anthony of Padua pray for us…

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First reading

2 Corinthians 1:18-22 ·

God himself has anointed us and given us his Spirit

I swear by God’s truth, there is no Yes and No about what we say to you. The Son of God, the Christ Jesus that we proclaimed among you – I mean Silvanus and Timothy and I – was never Yes and No: with him it was always Yes, and however many the promises God made, the Yes to them all is in him. That is why it is ‘through him’ that we answer Amen to the praise of God. Remember it is God himself who assures us all, and you, of our standing in Christ, and has anointed us, marking us with his seal and giving us the pledge, the Spirit, that we carry in our hearts.

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Gospel

Matthew 5:13-16

Your light must shine in the sight of men

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing, and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men.

    ‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.’

There is an old beautiful hymn that goes like this…”Thank you, Lord, for the trials that come my way. In that way I can grow each day as I let you lead.” A truth which is hard to accept due to our human nature, but one that every disciple appreciates as necessary to grow in deeper faith and loving relationship with the Lord our God. “Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. Jn 15:2

St Paul in today’s first reading reaffirms the love of God our Father, sharing with us that He is a gentle Father who comforts His children in all their sorrows so that we can offer others in their sorrows the consolation we have received from our Loving Father in Heaven. As we unite our sufferings with that of Christ and share in our sufferings, so too we will share in our consolations.

This is how we can live out the beatitudes in our lives, with the peace, love and joy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

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First reading

2 Corinthians 1:1-7 ·

God comforts us so that we can console others

From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, one of the brothers, to the church of God at Corinth and to all the saints in the whole of Achaia. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, a gentle Father and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our sorrows, so that we can offer others, in their sorrows, the consolation that we have received from God ourselves. Indeed, as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so, through Christ, does our consolation overflow. When we are made to suffer, it is for your consolation and salvation. When, instead, we are comforted, this should be a consolation to you, supporting you in patiently bearing the same sufferings as we bear. And our hope for you is confident, since we know that, sharing our sufferings, you will also share our consolations.

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Gospel

Matthew 5:1-12

How happy are the poor in spirit

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

‘How happy are the poor in spirit;

    theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Happy the gentle:

    they shall have the earth for their heritage.

Happy those who mourn:

    they shall be comforted.

Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:

    they shall be satisfied.

Happy the merciful:

    they shall have mercy shown them.

Happy the pure in heart:

    they shall see God.

Happy the peacemakers:

    they shall be called sons of God.

Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:

    theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven: this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.’

Today’s first reading is so precious because it is a guide for Christians on their pilgrim journey to their Heavenly inheritance given by St Raphael one of the seven angels who stand ever ready to enter the presence of the glory of the Lord. If one says that it is simply a work of fiction, I would rather we review that statement simply with this thought, “Is Tobit not an inspired work of God?”

• Always and above Bless God, utter His praise before all the living.
• Testify to His goodness and all He has done in your life.
• Never tire of giving Him thanks (heart of gratitude towards the Lord Your God)
• Proclaim His wondrous deeds.
• Do what is good and avoid all evil.
• Pray, give alms with right conduct.
• Do not hoard your wealth.
• Do not hesitate to do what is right, make haste to help those in need.

If you reflect a little more deeply on today’s Gospel, you will see that the poor widow did all as it is mentioned above in one way or another.

Blessed be God who lives forever in our midst and in our hearts. Amen

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First reading

Tobit 12:1,5-15,20

‘I am one of the seven angels who stand ever ready to enter the presence of the glory of the Lord’

When the feasting was over, Tobit called his son Tobias and said, ‘My son, you ought to think about paying the amount due to your fellow traveller; give him more than the figure agreed on.’ So Tobias called his companion and said, ‘Take half of what you brought back, in payment for all you have done, and go in peace.’

    Then Raphael took them both aside and said, ‘Bless God, utter his praise before all the living for all the favours he has given you. Bless and extol his name. Proclaim before all men the deeds of God as they deserve, and never tire of giving him thanks. It is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right to reveal and publish the works of God. Thank him worthily. Do what is good, and no evil can befall you.

    ‘Prayer with fasting and alms with right conduct are better than riches with iniquity. Better to practise almsgiving than to hoard up gold. Almsgiving saves from death and purges every kind of sin. Those who give alms have their fill of days; those who commit sin and do evil, bring harm on themselves.

    ‘I am going to tell you the whole truth, hiding nothing from you. I have already told you that it is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right too to reveal in worthy fashion the works of God. So you must know that when you and Sarah were at prayer, it was I who offered your supplications before the glory of the Lord and who read them; so too when you were burying the dead. When you did not hesitate to get up and leave the table to go and bury a dead man, I was sent to test your faith, and at the same time God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ever ready to enter the presence of the glory of the Lord.

    ‘Now bless the Lord on earth and give thanks to God. I am about to return to him above who sent me.’

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Gospel

Mark 12:38-44

This poor widow has put in more than all

In his teaching Jesus said, ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; these are the men who swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.’

    He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.’

Here is a truth for today in this day and age. That is, we do not Bless one another as often and as much as we should! We are quick tempered and readily criticise those who do not perform or act according to our standards; or hold our tongues but mutter under our breath. We would rather curse instead of bless and so it begs the question whom is it that we serve? Whom is it that we love?

If it is the Lord our God then we should seize any and every opportunity to Bless one another, whether it is with a kind word or an act of love. For Blessing one another is likewise giving praise and glory to God our Heavenly Father who is Blessed in turn; for we live as His children in the light of the resurrection of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We follow after the heart of Christ who turns all curses into Blessings!

Jesus Son of the living God Bless us and keep us close to You. Amen

Saint Ephraem pray for us…

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First reading

Tobit 11:5-17 ·

Tobit’s sight is restored to him

Anna was sitting, watching the road by which her son would come. She was sure at once it must be he and said to the father, ‘Here comes your son, with his companion.’

    Raphael said to Tobias before he reached his father, ‘I give you my word that your father’s eyes will open. You must put the fish’s gall to his eyes; the medicine will smart and will draw a filmy white skin off his eyes. And your father will be able to see and look on the light.’

    The mother ran forward and threw her arms round her son’s neck. ‘Now I can die,’ she said ‘I have seen you again.’ And she wept. Tobit rose to his feet and stumbled across the courtyard through the door. Tobias came on towards him (he had the fish’s gall in his hand). He blew into his eyes and said, steadying him, ‘Take courage, father!’ With this he applied the medicine, left it there a while, then with both hands peeled away a filmy skin from the corners of his eyes. Then his father fell on his neck and wept. He exclaimed, ‘I can see, my son, the light of my eyes!’ And he said:

‘Blessed be God!

Blessed be his great name!

Blessed be all his holy angels!

Blessed be his great name for evermore!

For he had scourged me

and now has had pity on me

and I see my son Tobias.’

Tobias went into the house, and with a loud voice joyfully blessed God. Then he told his father everything: how his journey had been successful and he had brought the silver back; how he had married Sarah, the daughter of Raguel; how she was following him now, close behind, and could not be far from the gates of Nineveh.

    Tobit set off to the gates of Nineveh to meet his daughter-in-law, giving joyful praise to God as he went. When the people of Nineveh saw him walking without a guide and stepping forward as briskly as of old, they were astonished. Tobit described to them how God had taken pity on him and had opened his eyes. Then Tobit met Sarah, the bride of his son Tobias, and blessed her in these words, ‘Welcome, daughter! Blessed be your God for sending you to us, my daughter. Blessings on your father, blessings on my son Tobias, blessings on yourself, my daughter. Welcome now to your own house in joyfulness and in blessedness. Come in, my daughter.’ He held a feast that day for all the Jews of Nineveh.

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Gospel

Mark 12:35-37

‘David himself calls him Lord’

At that time while teaching in the Temple, Jesus said, ‘How can the scribes maintain that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, moved by the Holy Spirit, said:

The Lord said to my Lord:

Sit at my right hand

and I will put your enemies

under your feet.

David himself calls him Lord, in what way then can he be his son?’ And the great majority of the people heard this with delight.

Wonderful is it not to Bless the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, strength and soul and only then do we petition Him that He might Bless us too as He readily does! Is this not singleness of heart?

Likewise married couples too should Bless the Lord everyday and pray for singleness of heart in Him and with one another all the days of their lives.

Now see today’s Gospel through the lens of ‘singleness of heart’ and we shall see that the Lord our God desires such an intimate relationship with Him. That we shall love Him, with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength. Singleness of Heart! And we shall love one another as we love ourselves. Singleness of Heart! Loving one another as One Body in Him. Amen

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First reading

Tobit 6:10-11,7:1,9-14,8:4-9

‘We must pray and petition the Lord’

Raphael and Tobit entered Media and had nearly reached Ecbetana when Raphael said to the boy, ‘Brother Tobias.’ ‘Yes?’ he answered. The angel went on, ‘Tonight we shall be staying with Raguel, who is a kinsman of yours. He has a daughter called Sarah, but apart from Sarah he has no other son or daughter.’

    As they entered Ecbatana, Tobias said, ‘Brother Azarias, take me at once to our brother Raguel’s.’ And he showed him the way to the house of Raguel, whom they found sitting beside his courtyard door. They greeted him first, and he replied, ‘Welcome and greetings, brothers.’ And he took them into his house. He said to his wife Edna, ‘How like my brother Tobit this young man is!’ Raguel killed a sheep from the flock, and they gave them a warm-hearted welcome.

    They washed and bathed and sat down to table. Then Tobias said to Raphael, ‘Brother Azarias, will you ask Raguel to give me my sister Sarah?’ Raguel overheard the words, and said to the young man, ‘Eat and drink, and make the most of your evening; no one else has the right to take my daughter Sarah – no one but you, my brother. In any case I, for my own part, am not at liberty to give her to anyone else, since you are her next of kin. However, my boy, I must be frank with you: I have tried to find a husband for her seven times among our kinsmen, and all of them have died the first evening, on going to her room. But for the present, my boy, eat and drink; the Lord will grant you his grace and peace.’ Tobias spoke out, ‘I will not hear of eating and drinking till you have come to a decision about me.’ Raguel answered, ‘Very well. Since, as prescribed by the Book of Moses, she is given to you, heaven itself decrees she shall be yours. I therefore entrust your sister to you. From now you are her brother and she is your sister. She is given to you from today for ever. The Lord of heaven favour you tonight, my child, and grant you his grace and peace.’ Raguel called for his daughter Sarah, took her by the hand and gave her to Tobias with these words, ‘I entrust her to you; the law and the ruling recorded in the Book of Moses assign her to you as your wife. Take her; take her home to your father’s house with a good conscience. The God of heaven grant you a good journey in peace.’ Then he turned to her mother and asked her to fetch him writing paper. He drew up the marriage contract, how he gave his daughter as bride to Tobias according to the ordinance in the Law of Moses.

    After this they began to eat and drink. The parents, meanwhile, had gone out and shut the door behind them. Tobias rose from the bed, and said to Sarah, ‘Get up, my sister! You and I must pray and petition our Lord to win his grace and his protection.’ She stood up, and they began praying for protection, and this was how he began:

‘You are blessed, O God of our fathers;

blessed, too, is your name

for ever and ever.

Let the heavens bless you

and all things you have made

for evermore.

It was you who created Adam,

you who created Eve his wife

to be his help and support;

and from these two the human race was born.

It was you who said,

“It is not good that the man should be alone;

let us make him a helpmate like himself.”

And so I do not take my sister

for any lustful motive;

I do it in singleness of heart.

Be kind enough to have pity on her and on me

and bring us to old age together.’

And together they said, ‘Amen, Amen’, and lay down for the night.

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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.

Today’s first reading and Gospel are very comforting indeed! For they reiterate the fact that we are children of the resurrection! That we Christians living in Christ Jesus our Lord, are destined for eternal life with God our Heavenly Father. When we die we become like the angels, therefore we are united with the Saints who have gone before us and can intercede for those we leave behind.

Even now we can pray to the Lord our God to send his angels to come to our aid. And we do not have to pray just to St Michael to aid us in our battle against evil, we can pray to St Raphael and the rest of the Heavenly hosts!

Sing praises to the living God, glory hallelujah! Amen

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First reading

Tobit 3:1-11,16-17

Raphael is sent to bring remedy to the house of Tobit

Sad at heart, I, Tobit, sighed and wept, and began this prayer of lamentation:

‘You are just, O Lord,

and just are all your works.

All your ways are grace and truth,

and you are the Judge of the world.

‘Therefore, Lord, remember me, look on me.

Do not punish me for my sins

or for my heedless faults

or for those of my fathers.

‘For we have sinned against you

and broken your commandments;

and you have given us over to be plundered,

to captivity and death,

to be the talk, the laughing-stock and scorn

of all the nations among whom you have dispersed us.

‘Whereas all your decrees are true

when you deal with me as my faults deserve,

and those of my fathers,

since we have neither kept your commandments

nor walked in truth before you;

so now, do with me as you will;

be pleased to take my life from me;

I desire to be delivered from earth

and to become earth again.

For death is better for me than life.

I have been reviled without a cause

and I am distressed beyond measure.

‘Lord, I wait for the sentence you will give

to deliver me from this affliction.

Let me go away to my everlasting home;

do not turn your face from me, O Lord.

For it is better to die than still to live

in the face of trouble that knows no pity;

I am weary of hearing myself traduced.’

It chanced on the same day that Sarah the daughter of Raguel, who lived in Media at Ecbatana, also heard insults from one of her father’s maids. You must know that she had been given in marriage seven times, and that Asmodeus, that worst of demons, had killed her bridegrooms one after another before ever they had slept with her as man with wife. The servant-girl said, ‘Yes, you kill your bridegrooms yourself. That makes seven already to whom you have been given, and you have not once been in luck yet. Just because your bridegrooms have died, that is no reason for punishing us. Go and join them, and may we be spared the sight of any child of yours!’ That day, she grieved, she sobbed, and went up to her father’s room intending to hang herself. But then she thought, ‘Suppose they blamed my father! They will say, “You had an only daughter whom you loved, and now she has hanged herself for grief.” I cannot cause my father a sorrow which would bring down his old age to the dwelling of the dead. I should do better not to hang myself, but to beg the Lord to let me die and not live to hear any more insults.’

    This time the prayer of each of them found favour before the glory of God, and Raphael was sent to bring remedy to them both. He was to take the white spots from the eyes of Tobit, so that he might see God’s light with his own eyes; and he was to give Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, as bride to Tobias son of Tobit, and to rid her of Asmodeus, that worst of demons. For it was to Tobias before all other suitors that she belonged by right. Tobit was coming back from the courtyard into the house at the same moment as Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, was coming down from the upper room.

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Gospel

Mark 12:18-27

The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob is the God of the living

Some Sadducees – who deny that there is a resurrection – came to him and they put this question to him, ‘Master, we have it from Moses in writing, if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a wife and then died leaving no children. The second married the widow, and he too died leaving no children; with the third it was the same, and none of the seven left any children. Last of all the woman herself died. Now at the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all seven?’

    Jesus said to them, ‘Is not the reason why you go wrong, that you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising again, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God spoke to him and said: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken.’

Do we think ourselves Holy, righteous and everyone else falls short? Even family? Whose standards do we measure them against? If we say against the standard of the Lord, our God then we are not truly His disciples! For how can know length, breadth, and depth of the knowledge and wisdom of our God? How humble are we to make such claims that we know? For even if He reveals certain things about our brethren, it is only so we can build them up! Not tear them down!

Therefore let all that we say and do, give glory to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Let us not be swayed by the ways of the world and give Him all which belongs to Him. We belong to Him! Amen

Saint Norbert pray for us….

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First reading

Tobit 2:9-14 ·

‘Everyone knows what return you have had for your good works’

I, Tobit, took a bath; then I went into the courtyard and lay down by the courtyard wall. Since it was hot I left my face uncovered. I did not know that there were sparrows in the wall above my head; their hot droppings fell into my eyes. White spots then formed, which I was obliged to have treated by the doctors. But the more ointments they tried me with, the more the spots blinded me, and in the end I became blind altogether. I remained without sight four years; all my brothers were distressed; and Ahikar provided for my upkeep for two years, till he left for Elymais.

    My wife Anna then undertook woman’s work; she would spin wool and take cloth to weave; she used to deliver whatever had been ordered from her and then receive payment. Now on March the seventh she finished a piece of work and delivered it to her customers. They paid her all that was due, and into the bargain presented her with a kid for a meal. When the kid came into my house, it began to bleat. I called to my wife and said, ‘Where does this creature come from? Suppose it has been stolen! Quick, let the owners have it back; we have no right to eat stolen goods.’ She said, ‘No, it was a present given me over and above my wages.’ I did not believe her, and told her to give it back to the owners (I blushed at this in her presence). Then she answered, ‘What about your own alms? What about your own good works? Everyone knows what return you have had for them.’

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Gospel

Mark 12:13-17

Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God

The chief priests and the scribes and the elders sent to Jesus some Pharisees and some Herodians to catch him out in what he said. These came and said to him, ‘Master, we know you are an honest man, that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you, and that you teach the way of God in all honesty. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay, yes or no?’ Seeing through their hypocrisy he said to them, ‘Why do you set this trap for me? Hand me a denarius and let me see it.’ They handed him one and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they told him. Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.’ This reply took them completely by surprise.

Happy the man who fears the Lord! Who takes delight in all the Lord’s commands. His justice stands firm for ever, he is the light in the darkness for the upright. He is generous, merciful and just. The good man takes pity and lends and conducts his affairs with honour. (extracted from today’s responsorial psalm 111)

In today’s first reading we hear of such a man! He makes haste to preserve the dignity of a fellow child of God by attending to his burial. He does so unafraid of any repercussions he might face. Such is God fearing man who walks in His presence!

What about those who do not fear the Lord? Who commits injustices, and other heinous crimes against humanity! Whose sins committed in blood cry out to their creator? Jesus tells us what will happen to such men in today’s Gospel.

I shall not waver Lord, remember me when I come into Your Kingdom. Amen

Saint Boniface pray for us…

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First reading

Tobit 1:3,2:1-8

Tobit defies the law by burying the dead

I, Tobit, have walked in paths of truth and in good works all the days of my life. I have given much in alms to my brothers and fellow countrymen, exiled like me to Nineveh in the country of Assyria.

    In the reign of Esarhaddon I returned home, and my wife Anna was restored to me with my son Tobias. At our feast of Pentecost (the feast of Weeks) there was a good dinner. I took my place for the meal; the table was brought to me and various dishes were brought. Then I said to my son Tobias, ‘Go, my child, and seek out some poor, loyal-hearted man among our brothers exiled in Nineveh, and bring him to share my meal. I will wait until you come back, my child.’ So Tobias went out to look for some poor man among our brothers, but he came back again and said, ‘Father!’ I answered, ‘What is it, my child?’ He went on, ‘Father, one of our nation has just been murdered; he has been strangled and then thrown down in the market place; he is there still.’ I sprang up at once, left my meal untouched, took the man from the market place and laid him in one of my rooms, waiting until sunset to bury him. I came in again and washed myself and ate my bread in sorrow, remembering the words of the prophet Amos concerning Bethel:

Your feasts will be turned to mourning,

and all your songs to lamentation.

And I wept. When the sun was down, I went and dug a grave and buried him. My neighbours laughed and said, ‘See! He is not afraid any more.’ (You must remember that a price had been set on my head earlier for this very thing.) ‘The time before this he had to flee, yet here he is, beginning to bury the dead again.’

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Gospel

Mark 12:1-12

They seized the beloved son, killed him and threw him out of the vineyard

Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes and the elders in parables: ‘A man planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug out a trough for the winepress and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce from the vineyard. But they seized the man, thrashed him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another servant to them; him they beat about the head and treated shamefully. And he sent another and him they killed; then a number of others, and they thrashed some and killed the rest. He had still someone left: his beloved son. He sent him to them last of all. “They will respect my son” he said. But those tenants said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” So they seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and make an end of the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this text of scripture:

It was the stone rejected by the builders

that became the keystone.

This was the Lord’s doing

and it is wonderful to see?

And they would have liked to arrest him, because they realised that the parable was aimed at them, but they were afraid of the crowds. So they left him alone and went away.

Seek the wisdom of the Lord with all your heart and in purity you will find her!

For in our steadfast desire to follow His Word and Will for us, He has opened the Heavens for us.

And in Authority we have been sent by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to make disciples of all nations! We are empowered by the Lord of lords the King of kings. To lead all He sends our way into His kingdom.

In the light of Your wisdom Lord I declare that Your kingdom come, Your Will be done now and forever. Amen

Saints Charles Lwanga and his Companions pray for us….

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First reading

Ecclesiasticus 51:17-27

Glory be to him who has given me wisdom

I will thank you and praise you,

    and bless the name of the Lord.

When I was still a youth, before I went travelling,

    in my prayers I asked outright for wisdom.

Outside the sanctuary I would pray for her,

    and to the last I will continue to seek her.

From her blossoming to the ripening of her grape

    my heart has taken its delight in her.

My foot has pursued a straight path,

    I have been following her steps ever since my youth.

By bowing my ear a little I have received her,

    and have found much instruction.

Thanks to her I have advanced;

    the glory be to him who has given me wisdom!

For I am determined to put her into practice,

    I have earnestly pursued what is good, I will not be put to shame.

My soul has fought to possess her,

    I have been scrupulous in keeping the Law;

I have stretched out my hands to heaven

    and bewailed my ignorance of her;

I have directed my soul towards her,

    and in purity have found her.

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Gospel

Mark 11:27-33

I will not tell you my authority for acting like this

Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem, and as Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, ‘What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you authority to do these things?’ Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you a question, only one; answer me and I will tell you my authority for acting like this. John’s baptism: did it come from heaven, or from man? Answer me that.’ And they argued it out this way among themselves: ‘If we say from heaven, he will say, “Then why did you refuse to believe him?” But dare we say from man?’ – they had the people to fear, for everyone held that John was a real prophet. So their reply to Jesus was, ‘We do not know.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Nor will I tell you my authority for acting like this.’

Are we concerned about leaving behind a legacy when we are dead and gone? Do we want to be remembered for what we did? As I have aged and now am beginning to see folks my age or even younger pass on, thoughts such as these have been playing on my mind.

Yes it would be wonderful if I am remembered as a man of God who tried his utmost to remain steadfast and faithful. But what would be greater is how I made people feel while I was with them. Did they feel the presence of the Lord my God when I spoke and ministered to them. Were they healed, delivered, set free to experience the love of their creator? Did I stir hearts to want to know Him in depth such that they experience His peace and love? How many souls have I saved for His glory?

Well to fulfil this hope and desire then I must ensure that my ‘temple’ that is the temple of the Holy Spirit, is one of prayer, a dwelling place of the Lord my God. I must be able to bear fruit in and out of season! For all things are possible for the one I serve with all my heart, strength and soul. I must fill my heart with His mercy and love, so I forgive readily just as I am forgiven by Him.

Renew me Lord and let my faith deepen, so that I may glorify in all that I say and do; for all the remaining days of my life. Amen

Saints Marcellinus and Peter pray for us…

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First reading

Ecclesiasticus 44:1,9-13

Let us praise illustrious men

Let us praise illustrious men,

    our ancestors in their successive generations.

Some have left no memory,

    and disappeared as though they had not existed,

they are now as though they had never been,

    and so too, their children after them.

But here is a list of generous men

    whose good works have not been forgotten.

In their descendants there remains

    a rich inheritance born of them.

Their descendants stand by the covenants

    and, thanks to them, so do their children’s children.

Their offspring will last for ever,

    their glory will not fade.

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Gospel

Mark 11:11-26

The fig tree; the cleansing of the Temple

After he had been acclaimed by the crowds, Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple. He looked all round him, but as it was now late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

    Next day as they were leaving Bethany, he felt hungry. Seeing a fig tree in leaf some distance away, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it, but when he came up to it he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. And he addressed the fig tree. ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again’ he said. And his disciples heard him say this.

    So they reached Jerusalem and he went into the Temple and began driving out those who were selling and buying there; he upset the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling pigeons. Nor would he allow anyone to carry anything through the Temple. And he taught them and said, ‘Does not scripture say: My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples? But you have turned it into a robbers’ den.’ This came to the ears of the chief priests and the scribes, and they tried to find some way of doing away with him; they were afraid of him because the people were carried away by his teaching. And when evening came he went out of the city.

    Next morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered to the roots. Peter remembered. ‘Look, Rabbi,’ he said to Jesus, ‘the fig tree you cursed has withered away.’ Jesus answered, ‘Have faith in God. I tell you solemnly, if anyone says to this mountain, “Get up and throw yourself into the sea,” with no hesitation in his heart but believing that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. I tell you therefore: everything you ask and pray for, believe that you have it already, and it will be yours. And when you stand in prayer, forgive whatever you have against anybody, so that your Father in heaven may forgive your failings too. But if you do not forgive, your Father in heaven will not forgive your failings either.’

All of creation rightly gives You praise O Lord our God for everything You have created is perfect! Your word O Lord gives life! Indeed the work of the Lord is full of glory.

And we sons and daughters of God the Father, wonderfully made, give Him thanks and praise! The Word made flesh our Emmanuel had come so that we shall have life eternal with Him. Jesus source of all life dwells with us, through Him we are healed and restored.

Let us then as God our Father’s children, empowered through Jesus Christ our Lord bring about His healing and restoration to all our brethren. Let go out and share the joy of the Gospel so that all who come to know Jesus will share in our Heavenly inheritance. Amen

Saint Justin pray for us…

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First reading

Ecclesiasticus 42:15-26 ·

The work of the Lord is full of his glory

I will remind you of the works of the Lord,

    and tell of what I have seen.

By the words of the Lord his works come into being

    and all creation obeys his will.

As the sun in shining looks on all things,

    so the work of the Lord is full of his glory.

The Lord has not granted to the holy ones

    to tell of all his marvels

which the Almighty Lord has solidly constructed

    for the universe to stand firm in his glory.

He has fathomed the deep and the heart,

    and seen into their devious ways;

for the Most High knows all the knowledge there is,

    and has observed the signs of the times.

He declares what is past and what will be,

    and uncovers the traces of hidden things.

Not a thought escapes him,

    not a single word is hidden from him.

He has imposed an order on the magnificent works of his wisdom,

    he is from everlasting to everlasting,

nothing can be added to him, nothing taken away,

    he needs no one’s advice.

How desirable are all his works,

    how dazzling to the eye!

They all live and last for ever,

    whatever the circumstances all obey him.

All things go in pairs, by opposites,

    and he has made nothing defective;

the one consolidates the excellence of the other,

    who could ever be sated with gazing at his glory?

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Gospel

Mark 10:46-52

Go; your faith has saved you

As Jesus left Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (that is, the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting at the side of the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and to say, ‘Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.’ And many of them scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him here.’ So they called the blind man. ‘Courage,’ they said ‘get up; he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus. Then Jesus spoke, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Rabbuni,’ the blind man said to him ‘Master, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has saved you.’ And immediately his sight returned and he followed him along the road.

On this feast day of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, perhaps we can we ask ourselves if we have made the effort to visit our brethren? Especially those in need! What do I mean by ‘visit’?

Well let’s see what we can learn from both our Blessed Mother and today’s Gospel…

• She made haste to visit her aged cousin who would definitely need help as she was due to deliver. (She did not procrastinate or delay)
• She travelled the distance likely on foot ( in other words, she went out of her way for love of her cousin)
• She brought the joy of the Gospel with her (She carried the word in her womb and it brought joy to great joy to Elisabeth, John the Baptist and the whole household)
• She praised God with body, mind and spirit and prophesied!
• She stayed three months before heading home (would you take as much time as needed to see to the needs of another?)

Yes indeed! how have you and I brought Christ Jesus into any if not all our ‘visits’?

With the same zeal, love and humble servitude as our Blessed Mother seeking only to Glorify the Lord our God!

Blessed Mother pray for us….Amen

First reading

Zephaniah 3:14-18 ·

The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst

Shout for joy, daughter of Zion,

Israel, shout aloud!

Rejoice, exult with all your heart,

daughter of Jerusalem!

The Lord has repealed your sentence;

he has driven your enemies away.

The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst;

you have no more evil to fear.

When that day comes, word will come to Jerusalem:

Zion, have no fear,

do not let your hands fall limp.

The Lord your God is in your midst,

a victorious warrior.

He will exult with joy over you,

he will renew you by his love;

he will dance with shouts of joy for you

as on a day of festival.

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Gospel

Luke 1:39-56

The Almighty has done great things for me

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’

    And Mary said:

‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord

and my spirit exults in God my saviour;

because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.

Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,

for the Almighty has done great things for me.

Holy is his name,

and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.

He has shown the power of his arm,

he has routed the proud of heart.

He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.

The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.

He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy

– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –

of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

While we do not work for rewards or recognition, indeed how blessed are we when offer our all for the glory of God!

For we have a generous Father who loves us without condition and showers us with His abundant grace. He is forever faithful even when we are not always faithful. He looks kindly on His servants, especially those who in our humble servitude of brethren. Our Lord and Saviour had reminded us, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matt 25:40

Lord we leave everything behind for the sake of the Gospel, when our time comes; grant us eternal life. Amen

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First reading

Ecclesiasticus 35:2-15 ·

Give to the Most High as he has given to you

A man multiplies offerings by keeping the Law;

    he offers communion sacrifices by following the commandments.

By showing gratitude he makes an offering of fine flour,

    by giving alms he offers a sacrifice of praise.

Withdraw from wickedness and the Lord will be pleased,

    withdraw from injustice and you make atonement.

Do not appear empty-handed in the Lord’s presence;

    for all these things are due under the commandment.

A virtuous man’s offering graces the altar,

    and its savour rises before the Most High.

A virtuous man’s sacrifice is acceptable,

    its memorial will not be forgotten.

Honour the Lord with generosity,

    do not stint the first-fruits you bring.

Add a smiling face to all your gifts,

    and be cheerful as you dedicate your tithes.

Give to the Most High as he has given to you,

    generously as your means can afford;

for the Lord is a good rewarder,

    he will reward you seven times over.

Offer him no bribe, he will not accept it,

    do not put your faith in an unvirtuous sacrifice;

since the Lord is a judge

    who is no respecter of personages.

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Gospel

Mark 10:28-31

Whoever has left everything for the sake of the gospel will be repaid

At that time Peter began to tell Jesus, ‘What about us? We have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.

    ‘Many who are first will be last, and the last first.’

What better way to celebrate the renewed mind, on the day after Pentecost then to honour the spouse of the Holy Spirit the mother of our Church, Mary our Blessed Mother!

With renewed body, mind and spirit we remember and honour our dearest mother who nurtures her church through her intercession. She has never turned away when we fled to her for protection neither has she ever left us unaided. Her immaculate heart is our refuge and the way that leads us deeper and closer to the Lord our God.

Mary, Mother of the Church pray for us…Amen

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First reading

Genesis 3:9-15,20 ·

The mother of all those who live

After Adam had eaten of the tree the Lord God called to him. ‘Where are you?’ he asked. ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden;’ he replied ‘I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ ‘Who told you that you were naked?’ he asked ‘Have you been eating of the tree I forbade you to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you put with me; she gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’ Then the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman replied, ‘The serpent tempted me and I ate.’

    Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,

‘Be accursed beyond all cattle,

all wild beasts.

You shall crawl on your belly and eat dust

every day of your life.

I will make you enemies of each other:

you and the woman,

your offspring and her offspring.

It will crush your head

and you will strike its heel.’

The man named his wife ‘Eve’ because she was the mother of all those who live.

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Gospel

John 19:25-34

‘Behold your son. Behold your mother.’

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.

    After this, Jesus knew that everything had now been completed, and to fulfil the scripture perfectly he said, ‘I am thirsty.’

    A jar full of vinegar stood there, so putting a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick they held it up to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the vinegar he said, ‘It is accomplished’; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.

    It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the sabbath – since that sabbath was a day of special solemnity – the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water.

Yes Lord let me testify to Your love for me and for my brethren. Let me testify to this Truth!

Let me be one of Your many un-named disciples truly loved by You. I seek not titles or recognition, only that I should glorify You by my life.

Let me proclaim Your Kingdom, teaching the truth about You, my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ!

And if it Your Will that I should die, then raise me up with You to eternal glory. Amen Alleluia!

Saint Augustine of Canterbury pray for us… 

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First reading

Acts 28:16-20,30-31 ·

In Rome, Paul proclaimed the kingdom of God without hindrance from anyone

On our arrival in Rome Paul was allowed to stay in lodgings of his own with the soldier who guarded him.

    After three days he called together the leading Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, ‘Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans. They examined me and would have set me free, since they found me guilty of nothing involving the death penalty; but the Jews lodged an objection, and I was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation to make against my own nation. That is why I have asked to see you and talk to you, for it is on account of the hope of Israel that I wear this chain.’

    Paul spent the whole of the two years in his own rented lodging. He welcomed all who came to visit him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete freedom and without hindrance from anyone.

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Gospel

John 21:20-25

This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and we know that his testimony is true

Peter turned and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them – the one who had leaned on his breast at the supper and had said to him, ‘Lord, who is it that will betray you?’ Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘What about him, Lord?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.’ The rumour then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, ‘He will not die’, but, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come.’

    This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true.

    There were many other things that Jesus did; if all were written down, the world itself, I suppose, would not hold all the books that would have to be written.

How do you love me? How deep is your love for me? How are you going to put your love for me into action for your sisters and brothers in the world? The Lord puts this question to you and me this very day? What will our answer be?

Lord I choose to follow You! Come what may, lead me Lord and I will follow. Come Holy His Spirit show me the way. Amen Alleluia!

Saint Philip Neri, pray for us… 

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First reading

Acts 25:13-21 ·

‘I ordered Paul to be remanded until I could send him to Caesar’

King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid their respects to Festus. Their visit lasted several days, and Festus put Paul’s case before the king. ‘There is a man here’ he said ‘whom Felix left behind in custody, and while I was in Jerusalem the chief priests and elders of the Jews laid information against him, demanding his condemnation. But I told them that Romans are not in the habit of surrendering any man, until the accused confronts his accusers and is given an opportunity to defend himself against the charge. So they came here with me, and I wasted no time but took my seat on the tribunal the very next day and had the man brought in. When confronted with him, his accusers did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected; but they had some argument or other with him about their own religion and about a dead man called Jesus whom Paul alleged to be alive. Not feeling qualified to deal with questions of this sort, I asked him if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried there on this issue. But Paul put in an appeal for his case to be reserved for the judgement of the august emperor, so I ordered him to be remanded until I could send him to Caesar.’

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Gospel

John 21:15-19

Feed my lambs, feed my sheep

Jesus showed himself to his disciples, and after they had eaten he said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?’ He answered, ‘Yes Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He replied, ‘Yes, Lord, you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Look after my sheep.’ Then he said to him a third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was upset that he asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.

‘I tell you most solemnly,

when you were young

you put on your own belt

and walked where you liked;

but when you grow old

you will stretch out your hands,

and somebody else will put a belt round you

and take you where you would rather not go.’

In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.’

If we say that we are One in Christ then how can Christians be divided on so many levels? Why are there so many denominations? Why are there so many arguments and disagreements on matters of faith? In today’s first reading we see the great divide between the Pharisees and Sadducees on matters of faith! Faith in whom? The One God?

In today’s Gospel we hear the prayer of Jesus for us to be completely One with Him and the Holy Trinity! That the world may know Jesus by our love and Oneness in Him. Therefore we strive always to focus on that which unites us not that which divides us.  St John Paul II wrote an encyclical Ut Unum Sint, on our committment to Ecumenism which every catholic should read and embrace. For we must always have dialogue and strive for solidarity in the service of humanity. We have all many varied and abundant gifts for which we can glorify the Lord our God by our work towards greater Oneness in and through Him.

We Are One In The Spirit

We Are One In The Lord

And We Pray That All Unity

May One Day Be Restored

And They’ll Know We Are

Christians By Our Love, By Our Love;

Yes, They’ll Know We Are Christians

By Our Love!

Amen Alleluia!

Saint Gregory VII, Pope, Saint Mary Magdalen de’ Pazzi, Saint Bede the Venerable pray for us….

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First reading

Acts 22:30,23:6-11 ·

‘You have borne witness in Jerusalem: now you must do the same in Rome’

Since the tribune wanted to know what precise charge the Jews were bringing, he freed Paul and gave orders for a meeting of the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin; then he brought Paul down and stood him in front of them. Now Paul was well aware that one section was made up of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, so he called out in the Sanhedrin, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.’ As soon as he said this a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was split between the two parties. For the Sadducees say there is neither resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, while the Pharisees accept all three. The shouting grew louder, and some of the scribes from the Pharisees’ party stood up and protested strongly, ‘We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?’ Feeling was running high, and the tribune, afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered his troops to go down and haul him out and bring him into the fortress.

    Next night, the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem, now you must do the same in Rome.’

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Gospel

John 17:20-26

Father, may they be completely one

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:

‘Holy Father,

I pray not only for these,

but for those also

who through their words will believe in me.

May they all be one.

Father, may they be one in us,

as you are in me and I am in you,

so that the world may believe it was you who sent me.

I have given them the glory you gave to me,

that they may be one as we are one.

With me in them and you in me,

may they be so completely one

that the world will realise that it was you who sent me

and that I have loved them as much as you loved me.

Father, I want those you have given me

to be with me where I am,

so that they may always see the glory you have given me

because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Father, Righteous One,

the world has not known you,

but I have known you,

and these have known that you have sent me.

I have made your name known to them

and will continue to make it known,

so that the love with which you loved me may be in them,

and so that I may be in them.’

We are consecrated in truth for we are consecrated in the Truth, the Way and the Life, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Shall we not remain steadfast and consecrated in truth? If we are lost at any time, then we have chosen to be lost!

For we have been made overseers by the Holy Spirit to guard and watch over our Good Shepherd’s flock. Are we then firmly grafted to our vine who nourishes us and strengthens us, or have once again allowed ourselves to be unravelled by the cares and ways of the world!

Let us commend ourselves to the Lord, and to His Word which has power to build us up. So that we made be found worthy of our Heavenly inheritance. Amen Alleluia!

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First reading

Acts 20:28-38 ·

I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, and its power

Paul addressed these words to the elders of the church of Ephesus:

    ‘Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you the overseers, to feed the Church of God which he bought with his own blood. I know quite well that when I have gone fierce wolves will invade you and will have no mercy on the flock. Even from your own ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them. So be on your guard, remembering how night and day for three years I never failed to keep you right, shedding tears over each one of you. And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace that has power to build you up and to give you your inheritance among all the sanctified.

    ‘I have never asked anyone for money or clothes; you know for yourselves that the work I did earned enough to meet my needs and those of my companions. I did this to show you that this is how we must exert ourselves to support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, who himself said, “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.”’

    When he had finished speaking he knelt down with them all and prayed. By now they were all in tears; they put their arms round Paul’s neck and kissed him; what saddened them most was his saying they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.

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Gospel

John 17:11-19

Father, keep those you have given me true to your name

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:

‘Holy Father,

keep those you have given me true to your name,

so that they may be one like us.

While I was with them,

I kept those you had given me true to your name.

I have watched over them

and not one is lost

except the one who chose to be lost,

and this was to fulfil the scriptures.

But now I am coming to you

and while still in the world I say these things

to share my joy with them to the full.

I passed your word on to them,

and the world hated them,

because they belong to the world

no more than I belong to the world.

I am not asking you to remove them from the world,

but to protect them from the evil one.

They do not belong to the world

any more than I belong to the world.

Consecrate them in the truth;

your word is truth.

As you sent me into the world,

I have sent them into the world,

and for their sake I consecrate myself

so that they too may be consecrated in truth.’

How is it that St Paul whether it was through prophesy of word, vision or dream knew he was going to face persecution and imprisonment; yet still moved onwards towards where he was being led instead of turning to flee? Why because the Holy Spirit was not something abstract to him, the Holy Spirit was a reality and He will forever be the third person in the Holy trinity; God! Does one who love God, flee from Him?

And so it should be for us, that life is not a thing to waste words on, we are to finish the race and carry out the mission the Lord Jesus gave to us. To make disciples of all nations! Let us therefore go out to glorify the Lord by our lives.

Holy Spirit lead the way! Amen Alleluia!

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First reading

Acts 20:17-27 ·

I have without faltering put before you the whole of God’s purpose

From Miletus Paul sent for the elders of the church of Ephesus. When they arrived he addressed these words to them:

    ‘You know what my way of life has been ever since the first day I set foot among you in Asia, how I have served the Lord in all humility, with all the sorrows and trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. I have not hesitated to do anything that would be helpful to you; I have preached to you, and instructed you both in public and in your homes, urging both Jews and Greeks to turn to God and to believe in our Lord Jesus.

    ‘And now you see me a prisoner already in spirit; I am on my way to Jerusalem, but have no idea what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit, in town after town, has made it clear enough that imprisonment and persecution await me. But life to me is not a thing to waste words on, provided that when I finish my race I have carried out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me – and that was to bear witness to the Good News of God’s grace.

    ‘I now feel sure that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will ever see my face again. And so here and now I swear that my conscience is clear as far as all of you are concerned, for I have without faltering put before you the whole of God’s purpose.’

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Gospel

John 17:1-11

Father, it is time for you to glorify me

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:

‘Father, the hour has come:

glorify your Son

so that your Son may glorify you;

and, through the power over all mankind that you have given him,

let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him.

And eternal life is this:

to know you,

the only true God,

and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

I have glorified you on earth

and finished the work that you gave me to do.

Now, Father, it is time for you to glorify me

with that glory I had with you

before ever the world was.

I have made your name known

to the men you took from the world to give me.

They were yours and you gave them to me,

and they have kept your word.

Now at last they know

that all you have given me comes indeed from you;

for I have given them the teaching you gave to me,

and they have truly accepted this, that I came from you,

and have believed that it was you who sent me.

I pray for them;

I am not praying for the world

but for those you have given me,

because they belong to you:

all I have is yours

and all you have is mine,

and in them I am glorified.

I am not in the world any longer,

but they are in the world,

and I am coming to you.’

Is it unthinkable to call God our Heavenly Father, Daddy? Papa? Or any other affectionate way we may call our earthly fathers? Well, if we only knew just how much He loves us and how He greatly desires to have an intimate relationship with us. This idea of calling Him Papa or Daddy would be as natural as any child calling out to their father with love and respect.

Papa I want more of Your presence in my life! Fill me with Your love daddy! Grant me what I need to glorify Your name Abba!

Yes! Indeed He will hear us and He will surely grant us what we ask in the name of His Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! We have this promise in today’s Gospel. Because our Heavenly truly loves us for we love His only begotten Son with all our hearts, minds, strength and soul.

Therefore we will go out boldly sharing the joy of the Gospel! Amen Alleluia!

Saint Bernardine of Siena pray for us…

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First reading

Acts 18:23-28 ·

Apollos demonstrated from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ

Paul came down to Antioch, where he spent a short time before continuing his journey through the Galatian country and then through Phrygia, encouraging all the followers.

    An Alexandrian Jew named Apollos now arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, with a sound knowledge of the scriptures, and yet, though he had been given instruction in the Way of the Lord and preached with great spiritual earnestness and was accurate in all the details he taught about Jesus, he had only experienced the baptism of John. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak boldly in the synagogue, they took an interest in him and gave him further instruction about the Way.

    When Apollos thought of crossing over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote asking the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived there he was able by God’s grace to help the believers considerably by the energetic way he refuted the Jews in public and demonstrated from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

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Gospel

John 16:23-28

The Father loves you for loving me and believing that I came from God

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I tell you most solemnly,

anything you ask for from the Father he will grant in my name.

Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.

Ask and you will receive, and so your joy will be complete.

I have been telling you all this in metaphors,

the hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you in metaphors;

but tell you about the Father in plain words.

When that day comes you will ask in my name;

and I do not say that I shall pray to the Father for you,

because the Father himself loves you for loving me

and believing that I came from God.

I came from the Father and have come into the world

and now I leave the world to go to the Father.’

Yes while we wait for our turn to return to our Heavenly inheritance. We will face much hardship perhaps some may even face persecution. Many yet will face the indignity of growing old, sick and at some point helpless to care for ourselves!

Through it all we shall walk on unafraid. For even though we walk through the darkest valley, we will fear no evil, for our Lord is with us; His rod and His staff, they comfort us. We carry the joy of our resurrected Lord deep within our hearts wherever we may go.

For we are convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Amen Alleluia!

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First reading
Acts 18:9-18 ·
‘I have many people on my side in this city’

At Corinth one night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid to speak out, nor allow yourself to be silenced: I am with you. I have so many people on my side in this city that no one will even attempt to hurt you.’ So Paul stayed there preaching the word of God among them for eighteen months.
    But, while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. ‘We accuse this man’ they said ‘of persuading people to worship God in a way that breaks the Law.’ Before Paul could open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, ‘Listen, you Jews. If this were a misdemeanour or a crime, I would not hesitate to attend to you; but if it is only quibbles about words and names, and about your own Law, then you must deal with it yourselves – I have no intention of making legal decisions about things like that.’ Then he sent them out of the court, and at once they all turned on Sosthenes, the synagogue president, and beat him in front of the court house. Gallio refused to take any notice at all.
    After staying on for some time, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut off, because of a vow he had made.


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Gospel
John 16:20-23
Your hearts will be full of joy that no-one will take from you

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I tell you most solemnly,
you will be weeping and wailing
while the world will rejoice;
you will be sorrowful,
but your sorrow will turn to joy.
A woman in childbirth suffers,
because her time has come;
but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering
in her joy that a man has been born into the world.
So it is with you: you are sad now,
but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy,
and that joy no one shall take from you.
When that day comes,
you will not ask me any questions.’

I am a child of God so loved by my Heavenly Father. He hides me in the shadow of His wings, I am anointed, protected and adored. He will never abandon me, He has a plan for me; to prosper me, to give me a hope a future.

I listen to His voice, He knows me and I follow Him. He dwells in me and I in Him!

I have the complete truth in Him who guides me all throughout the days of my life.

I love because He first loved me. I am a child of God so loved by my Heavenly Father. Amen Alleluia!

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First reading

Acts 17:15,22-18:1

I proclaim the God you already worship without knowing it

Paul’s escort took him as far as Athens, and went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to rejoin Paul as soon as they could.

    So Paul stood before the whole Council of the Areopagus and made this speech:

    ‘Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because I noticed, as I strolled round admiring your sacred monuments, that you had an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. Well, the God whom I proclaim is in fact the one whom you already worship without knowing it.

    ‘Since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself Lord of heaven and earth, he does not make his home in shrines made by human hands. Nor is he dependent on anything that human hands can do for him, since he can never be in need of anything; on the contrary, it is he who gives everything – including life and breath – to everyone. From one single stock he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed how long each nation should flourish and what the boundaries of its territory should be. And he did this so that all nations might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him. Yet in fact he is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live, and move, and exist, as indeed some of your own writers have said:

“We are all his children.”

‘Since we are the children of God, we have no excuse for thinking that the deity looks like anything in gold, silver or stone that has been carved and designed by a man.

    ‘God overlooked that sort of thing when men were ignorant, but now he is telling everyone everywhere that they must repent, because he has fixed a day when the whole world will be judged, and judged in righteousness, and he has appointed a man to be the judge. And God has publicly proved this by raising this man from the dead.’

    At this mention of rising from the dead, some of them burst out laughing; others said, ‘We would like to hear you talk about this again.’ After that Paul left them, but there were some who attached themselves to him and became believers, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman called Damaris, and others besides.

    After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

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Gospel

John 16:12-15

The Spirit of truth will lead you to the complete truth

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘I still have many things to say to you

but they would be too much for you now.

But when the Spirit of truth comes

he will lead you to the complete truth,

since he will not be speaking as from himself

but will say only what he has learnt;

and he will tell you of the things to come.

He will glorify me,

since all he tells you

will be taken from what is mine.

Everything the Father has is mine;

that is why I said:

All he tells you

will be taken from what is mine.’

“Believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household too.” Simply, to believe in Him frees us from sin, for all that is not of Him comes into the light and darkness is dispelled.  In believing in Him, the power of the resurrected Lord transforms us from within and true peace, love and joy fills our heart!

We read in today’s reading how praying, singing and worshipping the Lord our God invites the power of the Holy Spirit to come and free us from our shackles! Did He come there and then only to free the disciples and the prisoners? I believe that our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ had greater plans, He wanted to save the gaoler and his household! He came not only for the disciples and prisoners, He wanted true freedom from sin for everyone that included the gaoler and his household.

If serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Amen Alleluia! (Joshua 24:15)

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First reading

Acts 16:22-34 ·

Become a believer and you will be saved, and your household too

The crowd joined in and showed their hostility to Paul and Silas, so the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be flogged. They were given many lashes and then thrown into prison, and the gaoler was told to keep a close watch on them. So, following his instructions, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

    Late that night Paul and Silas were praying and singing God’s praises, while the other prisoners listened. Suddenly there was an earthquake that shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and the chains fell from all the prisoners. When the gaoler woke and saw the doors wide open he drew his sword and was about to commit suicide, presuming that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, ‘Don’t do yourself any harm; we are all here.’ The gaoler called for lights, then rushed in, threw himself trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas, and escorted them out, saying, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They told him, ‘Become a believer in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, and your household too.’ Then they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all his family. Late as it was, he took them to wash their wounds, and was baptised then and there with all his household. Afterwards he took them home and gave them a meal, and the whole family celebrated their conversion to belief in God.

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Gospel

John 16:5-11

Unless I go, the Advocate will not come to you

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘Now I am going to the one who sent me.

Not one of you has asked, “Where are you going?”

Yet you are sad at heart because I have told you this.

Still, I must tell you the truth:

it is for your own good that I am going

because unless I go,

the Advocate will not come to you;

but if I do go,

I will send him to you.

And when he comes,

he will show the world how wrong it was,

about sin,

and about who was in the right,

and about judgement:

about sin: proved by their refusal to believe in me;

about who was in the right: proved by my going to the Father and your seeing me no more;

about judgement: proved by the prince of this world being already condemned.’

“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.” Matt 10:40-41

First of all how many of us having the word preached to us like Lydia, would have their hearts set ablaze by the Holy Spirit and thereafter extend the love of a disciple of Christ to the her fellow sister or brother in Him? She welcomed the prophet and I am sure she received a prophet’s reward but most importantly she received Christ Himself into her heart and into her home.

Are we then hospitality ministers in name or do is our love put into action? This would apply to whatever ministry we serve or capacity we do so for Christ Jesus our Lord!

O Spirit of truth come filled my heart, let me be a witness to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen Alleluia

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First reading

Acts 16:11-15 ·

The Lord opened Lydia’s heart to accept what Paul was saying

Sailing from Troas we made a straight run for Samothrace; the next day for Neapolis, and from there for Philippi, a Roman colony and the principal city of that particular district of Macedonia. After a few days in this city we went along the river outside the gates as it was the sabbath and this was a customary place for prayer. We sat down and preached to the women who had come to the meeting. One of these women was called Lydia, a devout woman from the town of Thyatira who was in the purple-dye trade. She listened to us, and the Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptised she sent us an invitation: ‘If you really think me a true believer in the Lord,’ she said ‘come and stay with us’; and she would take no refusal.

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Gospel

John 15:26-16:4

The Spirit of truth will be my witness

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘When the Advocate comes,

whom I shall send to you from the Father,

the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father,

he will be my witness.

And you too will be witnesses,

because you have been with me from the outset.

‘I have told you all this that your faith may not be shaken.

They will expel you from the synagogues,

and indeed the hour is coming

when anyone who kills you

will think he is doing a holy duty for God.

They will do these things

because they have never known

either the Father or myself.

But I have told you all this,

so that when the time for it comes

you may remember that I told you.’

I used to think that it was madness for St Paul to have St Timothy circumcised just because everyone knew his father was a Greek. But now as I reflect more in this, would I not be glad to lose some skin if I could save many souls by doing so? For many were brought to faith and their numbers grew! Then as I reflect further down the passage, I wonder how many times I was prompted by the Spirit of Jesus to do or not do something yet thought it was all in my head. How was it I did not recognise my Lord’s voice? “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” John 10:27 I reckon I had allowed the distractions of the world overwhelm me. I had not spent enough time in His presence, in prayer and listening to His Word.

I belonged to the world!

Now I renounce all affiliation and I sever all ties! I belong to Jesus alone!

I am no longer a slave to fear! I am a child of God my Heavenly Father who adores me! Amen Alleluia!

Our Lady of Fátima pray for us…

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First reading

Acts 16:1-10 ·

‘Come across to Macedonia and help us’

From Cilicia Paul went to Derbe, and then on to Lystra. Here there was a disciple called Timothy, whose mother was a Jewess who had become a believer; but his father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy, and Paul, who wanted to have him as a travelling companion, had him circumcised. This was on account of the Jews in the locality where everyone knew his father was a Greek.

    As they visited one town after another, they passed on the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, with instructions to respect them.

    So the churches grew strong in the faith, as well as growing daily in numbers.

    They travelled through Phrygia and the Galatian country, having been told by the Holy Spirit not to preach the word in Asia. When they reached the frontier of Mysia they thought to cross it into Bithynia, but as the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them, they went through Mysia and came down to Troas.

    One night Paul had a vision: a Macedonian appeared and appealed to him in these words, ‘Come across to Macedonia and help us.’ Once he had seen this vision we lost no time in arranging a passage to Macedonia, convinced that God had called us to bring them the Good News.

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Gospel

John 15:18-21

The world hated me before it hated you

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘If the world hates you,

remember that it hated me before you.

If you belonged to the world,

the world would love you as its own;

but because you do not belong to the world,

because my choice withdrew you from the world,

therefore the world hates you.

Remember the words I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master.

If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too;

if they kept my word, they will keep yours as well.

But it will be on my account that they will do all this,

because they do not know the one who sent me.’

In all our endeavours to build the Lord’s Kingdom, Evangelisation, service of Church, Service of Community, Servitude at home; in our desire to grow in Holiness, let us not forget the most important thing of all. And that is to LOVE! Not love as in the emotion but to love one another as our Lord loved us. How did our Lord love us? He died on the cross for love of us! So too we must be prepared to lay down our lives for one another. To love one another with a supernatural love, that is with and through the love of Christ.

The Lord has shown us what is good and what He requires of us. To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Amen Alleluia!

 Saints Nereus, Achilleus, Pancras, pray for us… 

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First reading

Acts 15:22-31 ·

It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by us not to burden you beyond these essentials

The apostles and elders decided to choose delegates to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; the whole church concurred with this. They chose Judas known as Barsabbas and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood, and gave them this letter to take with them:

    ‘The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of pagan birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. We hear that some of our members have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds. They acted without any authority from us; and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with Barnabas and Paul, men we highly respect who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written in this letter. It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials: you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols; from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from fornication. Avoid these, and you will do what is right. Farewell.’

    The party left and went down to Antioch, where they summoned the whole community and delivered the letter. The community read it and were delighted with the encouragement it gave them.

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Gospel

John 15:12-17

What I command you is to love one another

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘This is my commandment:

love one another,

as I have loved you.

A man can have no greater love

than to lay down his life for his friends.

You are my friends,

if you do what I command you.

I shall not call you servants any more,

because a servant does not know

his master’s business;

I call you friends,

because I have made known to you

everything I have learnt from my Father.

You did not choose me:

no, I chose you;

and I commissioned you

to go out and to bear fruit,

fruit that will last;

and then the Father will give you

anything you ask him in my name.

What I command you is to love one another.’

Love one another and remain in my love.

To remain in the love of our Lord we must know His Word and do His Will. Each and every day, our greatest desire is to wake up and dwell with Him in His presence. Then we carry Him with us every where we go.

A great example of a disciple remaining in our Lord’s love is St James, for in today’s reading He discerns all he hears from St Peter, St Paul, St Barnabas and then lays the ground on how to move forwards through Scripture the living word of God!

Therefore we cannot declare that we know our Lord and are remaining in His love when we do not know the Scriptures (His Word) for as St Jerome insisted, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ!”

Let Your Word O Lord be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Amen Alleluia!

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First reading

Acts 15:7-21 ·

I rule that we do not make things more difficult for the pagans who turn to God

After the discussion had gone on a long time, Peter stood up and addressed the apostles and the elders.

    ‘My brothers,’ he said ‘you know perfectly well that in the early days God made his choice among you: the pagans were to learn the Good News from me and so become believers. In fact God, who can read everyone’s heart, showed his approval of them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he had to us. God made no distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by faith. It would only provoke God’s anger now, surely, if you imposed on the disciples the very burden that neither we nor our ancestors were strong enough to support? Remember, we believe that we are saved in the same way as they are: through the grace of the Lord Jesus.’

    This silenced the entire assembly, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the pagans.

    When they had finished it was James who spoke. ‘My brothers,’ he said ‘listen to me. Simeon has described how God first arranged to enlist a people for his name out of the pagans. This is entirely in harmony with the words of the prophets, since the scriptures say:

After that I shall return

and rebuild the fallen House of David;

I shall rebuild it from its ruins

and restore it.

Then the rest of mankind,

all the pagans who are consecrated to my name,

will look for the Lord,

says the Lord who made this known so long ago.

‘I rule, then, that instead of making things more difficult for pagans who turn to God, we send them a letter telling them merely to abstain from anything polluted by idols, from fornication, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has always had his preachers in every town, and is read aloud in the synagogues every sabbath.’

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Gospel

John 15:9-11

Remain in my love

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘As the Father has loved me,

so I have loved you.

Remain in my love.

If you keep my commandments

you will remain in my love,

just as I have kept my Father’s commandments

and remain in his love.

I have told you this

so that my own joy may be in you

and your joy be complete.’