On Today’s Gospel

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

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

First reading

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

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

Gospel

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

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

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

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

First reading

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

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


Gospel

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

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

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted: February 15, 2020 by CatholicJules in Sunday Reflections
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Affair of the Heart: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings:

Sirach 15:15–20
Psalm 119:1–2, 4–5, 17–18, 33–34
1 Corinthians 2:6–10
Matthew 5:17–37

Jesus tells us in the Gospel this week that He has come not to abolish but to “fulfill” the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets.

His Gospel reveals the deeper meaning and purpose of the Ten Commandments and the moral Law of the Old Testament. But His Gospel also transcends the Law. He demands a morality far greater than that accomplished by the most pious of Jews, the scribes and Pharisees.
Outward observance of the Law is not enough. It is not enough that we do not murder, commit adultery, divorce, or lie.

The law of the new covenant is a law that God writes on the heart (see Jeremiah 31:31–34). The heart is the seat of our motivations, the place from which our words and actions proceed (see Matthew 6:21; 15:18–20).

Jesus this week calls us to train our hearts, to master our passions and emotions. And Jesus demands the full obedience of our hearts (see Romans 6:17). He calls us to love God with all our hearts, and to do His will from the heart (see Matthew 22:37; Ephesians 6:6).

God never asks more of us than we are capable of. That is the message of this week’s First Reading. It is up to us to choose life over death, to choose the waters of eternal life over the fires of ungodliness and sin.
By His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus has shown us that it is possible to keep His commandments. In Baptism, He has given us His Spirit that His law might be fulfilled in us (Romans 8:4).

The wisdom of the Gospel surpasses all the wisdom of this age that is passing away, St. Paul tells us in the Epistle. The revelation of this wisdom fulfills God’s plan from before all ages.

Let us trust in this wisdom, and live by His kingdom law.
As we do in this week’s Psalm, let us pray that we grow in being better able to live His Gospel, and to seek the Father with all our heart.

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have we taken the Lord our God for granted?

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

First reading

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

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

Gospel

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

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

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

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

A reading from

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

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

A reading from

the holy Gospel according to Mark7:31-37

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

The Gospel of the Lord.

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

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

Jesus is for everyone. Amen

First reading

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

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

Gospel

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

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

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

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

First reading

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

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

Gospel

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

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

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

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

First reading

1 Kings 8:22-23,27-30 ·

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

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

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

Gospel

Mark 7:1-13

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

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

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

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

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

First reading

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

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

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

Gospel

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

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

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted: February 8, 2020 by CatholicJules in Sunday Reflections
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Light Breaking Forth: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings

Isaiah 58:7–10
Psalm 112:4–9
1 Corinthians 2:1–5
Matthew 5:13–16

Jesus came among us as light to scatter the darkness of a fallen world.
As His disciples, we too are called to be “the light of the world,” He tells us in the Gospel this Sunday (see John 1:4–4, 9; 8:12; 9:5).

All three images that Jesus uses to describe the Church are associated with the identity and vocation of Israel.
God forever aligned His kingdom with the kingdom of David and his sons by a “covenant of salt,” salt being a sign of permanence and purity (see 2 Chronicles 13:5, 8; Leviticus 2:13; Ezekiel 43:24).

Jerusalem was to be a city set on a hill, high above all others, drawing all nations towards the glorious light streaming from her Temple (see Isaiah 2:2; 60:1–3).
And Israel was given the mission of being a light to the nations, that God’s salvation would reach to the ends of the earth (see Isaiah 42:6; 49:6).

The liturgy shows us this week that the Church, and every Christian, is called to fulfill Israel’s mission.
By our faith and good works we are to make the light of God’s life break forth in the darkness, as we sing in this week’s Psalm.

This week’s readings remind us that our faith can never be a private affair, something we can hide as if under a basket.
We are to pour ourselves out for the afflicted, as Isaiah tells us in the First Reading. Our light must shine as a ray of God’s mercy for all who are poor, hungry, naked, and enslaved.

There must be a transparent quality to our lives. Our friends and family, our neighbors and fellow citizens, should see reflected in us the light of Christ and through us be attracted to the saving truths of the Gospel.
So let us pray that we, like St. Paul in the Epistle, might proclaim with our whole lives, “Christ and him crucified.”

…

Posted: February 8, 2020 by CatholicJules in Life's Journeys, Photos
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On Today’s Gospel

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

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

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

First reading

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

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

Gospel

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

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

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

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

First reading

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

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

Gospel

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

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

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

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

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

St Paul Miki and companions pray for us…..

First reading

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

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

Gospel

Mark 6:7-13
‘Take nothing with you’

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

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

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

St Agatha pray for us….

First reading

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

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

Gospel

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

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

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 4, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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The Lord our God will humble the conceited. Their vanity will be their undoing! Just as Absalom hung helpless by the fine set of hair on his head. Still a Father is heard weeping for his fallen child. Shall we then not dwell on how we have been living our own lives? Are we too proud and haughty in our dealings with others? Have we humbled ourselves before the Lord our God to plead for His mercy for our wrongdoings against Him and our brethren? Or do we go in pursuit of that which is not ours to take, to our own tragic end. Who is it then that will weep for us?

Again we learn today that the Lord our God has no favourites. Whether you are a son or a daughter, you are a beloved child so loved by your Heavenly Father. Old or young our Lord Jesus heals and restores without reservation. For He hears the cries of His faithful, be it our very own or through the intercession of our beloved ones. My son, my daughter we will surely hear Him say, your faith has healed you. Go in peace to love, serve and glorify the Lord Your God by Your lives. Amen

First reading

2 Samuel 18:9-10,14,24-25,30-19:3 ·
David mourns Absalom

Absalom happened to run into some of David’s followers. Absalom was riding a mule and the mule passed under the thick branches of a great oak. Absalom’s head caught fast in the oak and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule he was riding went on. Someone saw this and told Joab. ‘I have just seen Absalom’ he said ‘hanging from an oak.’ Joab took three lances in his hand and thrust them into Absalom’s heart while he was still alive there in the oak tree.
David was sitting between the two gates. The lookout had gone up to the roof of the gate, on the ramparts; he looked up and saw a man running all by himself. The watch called out to the king and told him. The king said, ‘If he is by himself, he has good news to tell.’ The king told the man, ‘Move aside and stand there.’ He moved aside and stood waiting.
Then the Cushite arrived. ‘Good news for my lord the king!’ cried the Cushite. ‘The Lord has vindicated your cause today by ridding you of all who rebelled against you.’ ‘Is all well with young Absalom?’ the king asked the Cushite. ‘May the enemies of my lord the king’ the Cushite answered ‘and all who rebelled against you to your hurt, share the lot of that young man.’
The king shuddered. He went up to the room over the gate and burst into tears, and weeping said, ‘My son Absalom! My son! My son Absalom! Would I had died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!’ Word was brought to Joab, ‘The king is now weeping and mourning for Absalom.’ And the day’s victory was turned to mourning for all the troops, because they learned that the king was grieving for his son. And the troops returned stealthily that day to the town, as troops creep back ashamed when routed in

battle.

Gospel

Mark 5:21-43
Little girl, I tell you to get up

When Jesus had crossed in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered round him and he stayed by the lakeside. Then one of the synagogue officials came up, Jairus by name, and seeing him, fell at his feet and pleaded with him earnestly, saying, ‘My little daughter is desperately sick. Do come and lay your hands on her to make her better and save her life.’ Jesus went with him and a large crowd followed him; they were pressing all round him.
Now there was a woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years; after long and painful treatment under various doctors, she spent all she had without being any the better for it, in fact, she was getting worse. She had heard about Jesus, and she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his cloak. ‘If I can touch even his clothes,’ she had told herself ‘I shall be well again.’ And the source of the bleeding dried up instantly, and she felt in herself that she was cured of her complaint. Immediately aware that power had gone out from him, Jesus turned round in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ His disciples said to him, ‘You see how the crowd is pressing round you and yet you say, “Who touched me?”’ But he continued to look all round to see who had done it. Then the woman came forward, frightened and trembling because she knew what had happened to her, and she fell at his feet and told him the whole truth. ‘My daughter,’ he said ‘your faith has restored you to health; go in peace and be free from your complaint.’
While he was still speaking some people arrived from the house of the synagogue official to say, ‘Your daughter is dead: why put the Master to any further trouble?’ But Jesus had overheard this remark of theirs and he said to the official, ‘Do not be afraid; only have faith.’ And he allowed no one to go with him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. So they came to the official’s house and Jesus noticed all the commotion, with people weeping and wailing unrestrainedly. He went in and said to them, ‘Why all this commotion and crying? The child is not dead, but asleep.’ But they laughed at him. So he turned them all out and, taking with him the child’s father and mother and his own companions, he went into the place where the child lay. And taking the child by the hand he said to her, ‘Talitha, kum!’ which means, ‘Little girl, I tell you to get up.’ The little girl got up at once and began to walk about, for she was twelve years old. At this they were overcome with astonishment, and he ordered them strictly not to let anyone know about it, and told them to give her something to eat.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 3, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Perhaps it is the sin of the Father in which the son picks up from and perpetuates. Still is the son not given free will to choose? When evil is allowed to run rampant it surely will as it is in its nature to do so. Causing huge rifts and division! Flesh and blood means nothing when evil has taken over. In the hurt and pain do we then cry out to the Lord our God? Can a father be consoled knowing his son is out to kill him? Perhaps he flees not so much in fear of being killed himself but in his awareness that eternal death awaits his son for dishonouring him? How many fathers have cried out in their own way? Oh Absalom! My Absalom! Were they not given opportunities to stop the evil that was taking place? To correct what is wrong in the eyes of the Lord our God? To cry out to Him for mercy and instruction.

Jesus is indeed the Lord of Lords, King of Kings and He Son of God is indeed Lord of Heaven and earth. No evil can hope to prevail in His presence. So then is it not wise for all of us to live in His presence? Let us not allow evil to enter our hearts and if it has then let us quickly repent by turning to our Lord to free us. So that we might always live freely in His love and presence. Amen

First reading

2 Samuel 15:13-14,30,16:5-13 ·
David flees Absalom and is cursed by Shimei

A messenger came to tell David, ‘The hearts of the men of Israel are now with Absalom.’ So David said to all his officers who were with him in Jerusalem, ‘Let us be off, let us fly, or we shall never escape from Absalom. Leave as quickly as you can in case flesh mounts a surprise attack and worsts us and puts the city to the sword.’
David then made his way up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, his head covered and his feet bare. And all the people with him had their heads covered and made their way up, weeping as they went.
As David was reaching Bahurim, out came a man of the same clan as Saul’s family. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he came he uttered curse after curse and threw stones at David and at all King David’s officers, though the whole army and all the champions flanked the king right and left. The words of his curse were these, ‘Be off, be off, man of blood, scoundrel! the Lord has brought on you all the blood of the House of Saul whose sovereignty you have usurped; and the Lord has transferred that same sovereignty to Absalom your son. Now your doom has overtaken you, man of blood that you are.’ Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, ‘Is this dead dog to curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut his head off.’ But the king replied, ‘What business is it of mine and yours, sons of Zeruiah? Let him curse. If the Lord said to him, “Curse David,” what right has anyone to say, “Why have you done this?”’ David said to Abishai and all his officers, ‘Why, my own son, sprung from my body, is now seeking my life; so now how much the more this Benjaminite? Let him curse on if the Lord has told him to. Perhaps the Lord will look on my misery and repay me with good for his curse today.’ So David and his men went on their way.

Gospel

Mark 5:1-20
The Gadarene swine

Jesus and his disciples reached the country of the Gerasenes on the other side of the lake, and no sooner had Jesus left the boat than a man with an unclean spirit came out from the tombs towards him. The man lived in the tombs and no one could secure him any more, even with a chain; because he had often been secured with fetters and chains but had snapped the chains and broken the fetters, and no one had the strength to control him. All night and all day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he would howl and gash himself with stones. Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and fell at his feet and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? Swear by God you will not torture me!’ – for Jesus had been saying to him, ‘Come out of the man, unclean spirit.’ ‘What is your name?’ Jesus asked. ‘My name is legion,’ he answered ‘for there are many of us.’ And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the district.
Now there was there on the mountainside a great herd of pigs feeding, and the unclean spirits begged him, ‘Send us to the pigs, let us go into them.’ So he gave them leave. With that, the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs, and the herd of about two thousand pigs charged down the cliff into the lake, and there they were drowned. The swineherds ran off and told their story in the town and in the country round about; and the people came to see what had really happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his full senses – the very man who had had the legion in him before – and they were afraid. And those who had witnessed it reported what had happened to the demoniac and what had become of the pigs. Then they began to implore Jesus to leave the neighbourhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed begged to be allowed to stay with him. Jesus would not let him but said to him, ‘Go home to your people and tell them all that the Lord in his mercy has done for you.’ So the man went off and proceeded to spread throughout the Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed.

Feast of the Presentation

Posted: February 1, 2020 by CatholicJules in Sunday Reflections
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Presenting the Present: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Feast of the Presentation

Readings:

Malachi 3:1–4
Psalm 24:7, 8, 9, 10
Hebrews 2:14–18
Luke 2:22–40

Today’s feast marks the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the Temple, forty days after he was born. As the firstborn, he belonged to God. According to the Law, Mary and Joseph were required to take him to the Temple and “redeem” him by paying five shekels. At the same time, the Law required the child’s mother to offer sacrifice in order to overcome the ritual impurity brought about by childbirth.

So the feast we celebrate shows a curious turn of events. The Redeemer seems to be redeemed. She who is all-pure presents herself to be purified. Such is the humility of our God. Such is the humility of the Blessed Virgin. They submit to the law even though they are not bound by it.

However, the Gospel story nowhere mentions Jesus’ “redemption,” but seems to describe instead a religious consecration—such as a priest might undergo. Saint Luke tells us that Jesus is “presented” in the Temple, using the same verb that Saint Paul uses to describe the offering of a sacrifice (see Romans 12:1). Another parallel is the Old Testament dedication of Samuel (1 Sam 1:24-27) to the Temple as a priest.

The drama surrounding Jesus’ conception and birth began in the Temple—when the Archangel visited Mary’s kinsman, Zechariah the priest. And now the story of Jesus’ infancy comes to a fitting conclusion, again in the Temple.

All the readings today concern Jerusalem, the Temple, and the sacrificial rites. The first reading comes from the Prophet Malachi, who called the priests to return to faithful service—and foretold a day when a Messiah would arrive with definitive purification of the priesthood.

Likewise, the Psalm announces to Jerusalem that Jerusalem is about to receive a great visitor. The Psalmist identifies him as “The LORD of hosts . . . the king of glory.”
Christ now arrives as the long-awaited priest and redeemer. He is also the sacrifice. Indeed, as his life will show, He is the Temple itself (see John 2:19-21).

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 1, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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When the storms of life surface and the strong winds are blowing us into a frenzy where will our faith lie? With our Lord who is present with us? Or do we instead, give in to our paranoia and allow fear to grip our hearts. Should we not stop and take it to prayer? To calm ourselves and to live in the presence of our Lord. To allow His peace to reign in our hearts.

Indeed our Lord is merciful and forgiving. And He will forgive us our most heinous sin, heal and restore us to sonship and daughterhood. However we too must do our part to restore what was lost. To make reparations to atone for our sin against our brethren and against the Lord our God. We should take our penance seriously, so as to dwell on how and what we must do from sinning again.

Lord Jesus be with me always. Amen

First reading

2 Samuel 12:1-7,10-17 ·

David’s penitence over Uriah

The Lord sent Nathan the prophet to David. He came to him and said:

‘In the same town were two men, one rich, the other poor.

The rich man had flocks and herds in great abundance;

the poor man had nothing but a ewe lamb, one only, a small one he had bought.

This he fed, and it grew up with him and his children,

eating his bread, drinking from his cup, sleeping on his breast; it was like a daughter to him.

When there came a traveller to stay, the rich man refused to take one of his own flock or herd to provide for the wayfarer who had come to him.

Instead he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.’

David’s anger flared up against the man. ‘As the Lord lives,’ he said to Nathan ‘the man who did this deserves to die! He must make fourfold restitution for the lamb, for doing such a thing and showing no compassion.’

Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man. So now the sword will never be far from your House, since you have shown contempt for me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.”

‘Thus the Lord speaks, “I will stir up evil for you out of your own House. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to your neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. You worked in secret, I will work this in the face of all Israel and in the face of the sun.”’

David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Then Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord, for his part, forgives your sin; you are not to die. Yet because you have outraged the Lord by doing this, the child that is born to you is to die.’ Then Nathan went home.

The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David and it fell gravely ill. David pleaded with the Lord for the child; he kept a strict fast and went home and spent the night on the bare ground, covered with sacking. The officials of his household came and stood round him to get him to rise from the ground, but he refused, nor would he take food with them.

Gospel

Mark 4:35-41

‘Even the wind and the sea obey him’

With the coming of evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind they took him, just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. Then it began to blow a gale and the waves were breaking into the boat so that it was almost swamped. But he was in the stern, his head on the cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, ‘Master, do you not care? We are going down!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’ They were filled with awe and said to one another, ‘Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 31, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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What seed shall I sow for my Lord?

The seed of unconfessed or rather hidden sins? Dug deep left to be forgotten and yet sprouts an ever growing evil. Perpetuating itself further when one sin seeks to cover another! Do I want to wait till I’m crushed inevitably to certain death by its weight?

Shall I sow instead the seed of faith and trust in my ever merciful and loving Lord? Turning back each time I stray away from Him. Allowing His grace to heal and strengthen me such that I sin no more. Allowing the seed of His love to grow within me, that I may bear much fruit for Him. By tending and leading His flock into the shelter of His wings.

Lord Jesus sow what You Will within me, let Your grace be upon me that I may be fertile as to produce for You a hundredfold over. Amen

First Reading

2 Samuel 11:1-4,5-10,13-17 ·
David and Bathsheba

At the turn of the year, the time when kings go campaigning, David sent Joab and with him his own guards and the whole of Israel. They massacred the Ammonites and laid siege to Rabbah. David, however, remained in Jerusalem.
It happened towards evening when David had risen from his couch and was strolling on the palace roof, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David made inquiries about this woman and was told, ‘Why, that is Bathsheba, Eliam’s daughter, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’ Then David sent messengers and had her brought. She came to him, and he slept with her. She then went home again. The woman conceived and sent word to David; ‘I am with child.’
Then David sent Joab a message, ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite’, whereupon Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came into his presence, David asked after Joab and the army and how the war was going. David then said to Uriah, ‘Go down to your house and enjoy yourself.’ Uriah left the palace, and was followed by a present from the king’s table. Uriah however slept by the palace door with his master’s bodyguard and did not go down to his house.
This was reported to David; ‘Uriah’ they said ‘did not go down to his house.’ The next day David invited him to eat and drink in his presence and made him drunk. In the evening Uriah went out and lay on his couch with his master’s bodyguard, but he did not go down to his house.
Next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah. In the letter he wrote, ‘Station Uriah in the thick of the fight and then fall back behind him so that he may be struck down and die.’ Joab, then besieging the town, posted Uriah in a place where he knew there were fierce fighters. The men of the town sallied out and engaged Joab; the army suffered casualties, including some of David’s bodyguard; and Uriah the Hittite was killed too.

Gospel

Mark 4:26-34
The kingdom of God is a mustard seed growing into the biggest shrub of all

Jesus said to the crowds: ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.’
He also said, ‘What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.’
Using many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, so far as they were capable of understanding it. He would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were alone.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 30, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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In those days the light of King David shone like no other! He led Israel out of darkness uniting them with the Lord their God. He was anointed and truly Blessed by the Lord our God.

Let us not forget however that he was far from Saintly. He was blinded by power, driven by ambition and gave in to his insatiable sexual appetites. He was one of us in all regards, for just like us he too was conceived with original sin. Yet each time he fell into sin and awoke in realisation, his heart was in great anguish. His contrite spirit cried out to the Lord our God and he repented. Then once again He was able to sing beautiful psalms of gratitude and praise to God. It is with his ever grateful heart that he continued to serve the Lord and was able to shine once again for Him!

Let us never wallow in our sin but turn back always to our Jesus Christ who awaits to embrace us in His mercy and love. So that we can once again shine for Him in all that we say and do. Amen

First reading

2 Samuel 7:18-19,24-29
‘The house of your servant will be blessed for ever’

After Nathan had spoken to him, King David went in and, seated before the Lord, said: ‘Who am I, O Lord, and what is my House, that you have led me as far as this? Yet in your sight, O Lord, this is still not far enough, and you make your promises extend to the House of your servant for a far-distant future. You have constituted your people Israel to be your own people for ever; and you, Lord, have become their God.
‘Now, O Lord, always keep the promise you have made your servant and his House, and do as you have said. Your name will be exalted for ever and men will say, “The Lord of Hosts is God over Israel.” The House of your servant David will be made secure in your presence, since you yourself, Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, “I will build you a House”; hence your servant has ventured to offer this prayer to you. Yes, Lord, you are God indeed, your words are true and you have made this fair promise to your servant. Be pleased, then, to bless the House of your servant, that it may continue for ever in your presence; for you, Lord, have spoken; and with your blessing the House of your servant will be for ever blessed.’

Gospel

Mark 4:21-25
A lamp is to be put on a lampstand. The amount you measure out is the amount you will be given

Jesus said to the crowd, ‘Would you bring in a lamp to put it under a tub or under the bed? Surely you will put it on the lamp-stand? For there is nothing hidden but it must be disclosed, nothing kept secret except to be brought to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.’
He also said to them, ‘Take notice of what you are hearing. The amount you measure out is the amount you will be given – and more besides; for the man who has will be given more; from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken away.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 29, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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All our offerings, physical or otherwise, of praise and thanksgiving, adds nothing to the Lord our God. He has neither need or want of them. We offer them up to Him nonetheless for ourselves. For we acknowledge with deepest gratitude, the great love of God for us. Our greatest act of love for Him is when we lay down our lives for Him and our brethren, we can do so without physical death for very few are chosen for martyrdom. We are simply called to love beyond what we think ourselves capable often with great sacrifice. And we can surely do so, for He is with us always and reigns in our hearts when we embrace His Word in our daily lives.

Therefore it is imperative that we guard our hearts against all forms of sin and temptations so that our Lord’s Word can take root deeply. And we will yield a great harvest for Him by our lives. Amen

First reading

2 Samuel 7:4-17 ·
‘Your house and sovereignty will stand secure’

The word of the Lord came to Nathan:
‘Go and tell my servant David, “Thus the Lord speaks: Are you the man to build me a house to dwell in? I have never stayed in a house from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until today, but have always led a wanderer’s life in a tent. In all my journeying with the whole people of Israel, did I say to any one of the judges of Israel, whom I had appointed as shepherds of Israel my people: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” This is what you must say to my servant David, “The Lord of Hosts says this: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader of my people Israel; I have been with you on all your expeditions; I have cut off all your enemies before you. I will give you fame as great as the fame of the greatest on earth. I will provide a place for my people Israel; I will plant them there and they shall dwell in that place and never be disturbed again; nor shall the wicked continue to oppress them as they did, in the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel; I will give them rest from all their enemies. The Lord will make you great; the Lord will make you a House. And when your days are ended and you are laid to rest with your ancestors, I will preserve the offspring of your body after you and make his sovereignty secure. (It is he who shall build a house for my name, and I will make his royal throne secure for ever.) I will be a father to him and he a son to me; if he does evil, I will punish him with the rod such as men use, with strokes such as mankind gives. Yet I will not withdraw my favour from him, as I withdrew it from your predecessor. Your House and your sovereignty will always stand secure before me and your throne be established for ever.”’
Nathan related all these words to David and this whole revelation.

Gospel

Mark 4:1-20
The parable of the sower

Jesus began to teach by the lakeside, but such a huge crowd gathered round him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there. The people were all along the shore, at the water’s edge. He taught them many things in parables, and in the course of his teaching he said to them, ‘Listen! Imagine a sower going out to sow. Now it happened that, as he sowed, some of the seed fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground where it found little soil and sprang up straightaway, because there was no depth of earth; and when the sun came up it was scorched and, not having any roots, it withered away. Some seed fell into thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it produced no crop. And some seeds fell into rich soil and, growing tall and strong, produced crop; and yielded thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold.’ And he said, ‘Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!’
When he was alone, the Twelve, together with the others who formed his company, asked what the parables meant. He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God is given to you, but to those who are outside everything comes in parables, so that they may see and see again, but not perceive; may hear and hear again, but not understand; otherwise they might be converted and be forgiven.’
He said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? What the sower is sowing is the word. Those on the edge of the path where the word is sown are people who have no sooner heard it than Satan comes and carries away the word that was sown in them. Similarly, those who receive the seed on patches of rock are people who, when first they hear the word, welcome it at once with joy. But they have no root in them, they do not last; should some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, they fall away at once. Then there are others who receive the seed in thorns. These have heard the word, but the worries of this world, the lure of riches and all the other passions come in to choke the word, and so it produces nothing. And there are those who have received the seed in rich soil: they hear the word and accept it and yield a harvest, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 28, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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There is nothing more freeing than to lie in the palm of the Lord my God’s hand. Having renounced all sin and sinful pleasures and to accept unreservedly that I do not know much of anything except that I must do the will of God with every fibre of my being. When all of us seek only to do our Lord’s Will, we come to the realisation that we are most fully united and One with Him. While we are all not connected by blood we are are most fully connected by the waters of our baptism. We are more than sisters and brothers, we make up His one Body that is Christ Jesus our Lord.

Only then like David, can we raise our hands high in the air, dancing, singing hymns and shouting our Lord’s praises as we worship in glad adoration!

Thy Will O Lord, be done, now and forever. Amen

First reading

2 Samuel 6:12-15,17-19 ·
David dances before the ark of the Lord

David went and brought the ark of God up from Obed-edom’s house to the Citadel of David with great rejoicing. When the bearers of the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fat sheep. And David danced whirling round before the Lord with all his might, wearing a linen loincloth round him. Thus David and all the House of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with acclaim and the sound of the horn. They brought the ark of the Lord in and put it in position inside the tent that David had pitched for it; and David offered holocausts before the Lord, and communion sacrifices. And when David had finished offering holocausts and communion sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Hosts. He then distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israelites, men and women, a roll of bread to each, a portion of dates, and a raisin cake. Then they all went away, each to his own house.

Gospel

Mark 3:31-35
Who are my mother and my brothers? Those that do the will of God

The mother and brothers of Jesus arrived and, standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, ‘Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.’ He replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking round at those sitting in a circle about him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.’
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On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 27, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We must all strive for unity that is Christians, united as one in our Lord Jesus Christ. For our Lord has taught us that if a kingdom is divided then it will not last. And we have many enemies prowling and waiting to tear all that we believe in down. They spread propaganda and insists on imposing their own belief systems on us. Such as the right to choose, to take life through abortion or euthanasia. The right to same sex marriage. Pornagraphy and vulgarity are allowed to spread rampantly wiring the young to think it is OK to objectify and to be objectified. How are we to stand up to combat all these if we are not One in our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ?!

For through Him alone we are delivered from all evil and sin. Through Him we have the power to overcome evil and bring healing and peace. By His flesh and blood we are nourished, grace filled and fully united with Him and one another. Let us all stand faithfully united with Him and in Him for the sake of our future and that of all children’s. So that One in prayer, and grounded on His Word we all have hope of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

First reading

2 Samuel 5:1-7,10
‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel’

All the tribes of Israel then came to David at Hebron. ‘Look’ they said ‘we are your own flesh and blood. In days past when Saul was our king, it was you who led Israel in all their exploits; and the Lord said to you, “You are the man who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you shall be the leader of Israel.”’ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a pact with them at Hebron in the presence of the Lord, and they anointed David king of Israel.
David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years. He reigned in Hebron over Judah for seven years and six months; then he reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah for thirty-three years.
David and his men marched on Jerusalem against the Jebusites living there. These said to David, ‘You will not get in here. The blind and the lame will hold you off.’ (That is to say: David will never get in here.) But David captured the fortress of Zion, that is, the Citadel of David.
David grew greater and greater, and the Lord, the God of Hosts, was with him.

Gospel

Mark 3:22-30
A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand

The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, ‘Beelzebul is in him’ and, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts devils out.’ So he called them to him and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. And if a household is divided against itself, that household can never stand. Now if Satan has rebelled against himself and is divided, he cannot stand either – it is the end of him. But no one can make his way into a strong man’s house and burgle his property unless he has tied up the strong man first. Only then can he burgle his house.
‘I tell you solemnly, all men’s sins will be forgiven, and all their blasphemies; but let anyone blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and he will never have forgiveness: he is guilty of an eternal sin.’ This was because they were saying, ‘An unclean spirit is in him.’

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted: January 25, 2020 by CatholicJules in Sunday Reflections
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History Redeemed: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings:

Isaiah 8:23–9:3
Psalm 27:1, 4, 13–14
1 Corinthians 1:10–13, 17
Matthew 4:12–23

Today’s liturgy gives us a lesson in ancient Israelite geography and history.
Isaiah’s prophecy in today’s First Reading is quoted by Matthew in today’s Gospel. Both intend to recall the apparent fall of the everlasting kingdom promised to David (see 2 Samuel 7:12–13; Psalm 89; 132:11–12).

Eight centuries before Christ, that part of the kingdom where the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali lived was attacked by the Assyrians, and the tribes were hauled off into captivity (see 2 Kings 15:29; 1 Chronicles 5:26).

It marked the beginning of the kingdom’s end. It finally crumbled in the sixth century BC, when Jerusalem was seized by Babylon and the remaining tribes were driven into exile (see 2 Kings 24:14).

Isaiah prophesied that Zebulun and Naphtali, the lands first to be degraded, would be the first to see the light of God’s salvation. Jesus today fulfills that prophecy—announcing the restoration of David’s kingdom at precisely the spot where the kingdom began to fall.

His Gospel of the Kingdom includes not only the twelve tribes of Israel but all the nations—symbolized by the “Galilee of the Nations.” Calling His first disciples, two fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, He appoints them to be “fishers of men”—gathering people from the ends of the earth.

They are to preach the Gospel, Paul says in today’s Epistle, to unite all peoples in the same mind and in the same purpose—in a worldwide kingdom of God.

By their preaching, Isaiah’s promise has been delivered. A world in darkness has seen the light. The yoke of slavery and sin, borne by humanity since time began, has been smashed.
And we are able now, as we sing in today’s Psalm, to dwell in the house of the Lord, to worship Him in the land of the living.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 25, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Can a leopard change it’s spots? Certainly not on the outside! But through Jesus our Lord, all the spots from within are removed. Purified, sanctified made Holy to know God’s will and to share in His love. 1 Peter 3:3-4 1 “Your adornment should be not an exterior one, consisting of braided hair or gold jewellery or fine clothing, but the interior disposition of the heart, consisting in the imperishable quality of a gentle and peaceful spirit, so precious in the sight of God.” By our obedience and through the grace of the Lord our God, we become powerful witnesses to what we have seen and heard of our Lord Jesus Christ. So that the many who come to believe shall be saved through Him.

And so we are sent into the world to combat evil, to bring His healing grace and to share in the good news of our salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

St Paul pray for us….

May the abundant Blessings of our Almighty and loving God be upon you my sisters and brothers who are celebrating the Lunar New Year. May the peace and love of Lord Jesus be in your hearts and homes. Amen

Happy New Year!

First reading

Acts 22:3-16 ·
‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

Paul said to the people, ‘I am a Jew and was born at Tarsus in Cilicia. I was brought up here in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was taught the exact observance of the Law of our ancestors. In fact, I was as full of duty towards God as you are today. I even persecuted this Way to the death, and sent women as well as men to prison in chains as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify, since they even sent me with letters to their brothers in Damascus. When I set off it was with the intention of bringing prisoners back from there to Jerusalem for punishment.
‘I was on that journey and nearly at Damascus when about midday a bright light from heaven suddenly shone round me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” I answered: Who are you, Lord? and he said to me, “I am Jesus the Nazarene, and you are persecuting me.” The people with me saw the light but did not hear his voice as he spoke to me. I said: What am I to do, Lord? The Lord answered, “Stand up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told what you have been appointed to do.” The light had been so dazzling that I was blind and my companions had to take me by the hand; and so I came to Damascus.
‘Someone called Ananias, a devout follower of the Law and highly thought of by all the Jews living there, came to see me; he stood beside me and said, “Brother Saul, receive your sight.” Instantly my sight came back and I was able to see him. Then he said, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Just One and hear his own voice speaking, because you are to be his witness before all mankind, testifying to what you have seen and heard. And now why delay? It is time you were baptised and had your sins washed away while invoking his name.”’

Gospel

Mark 16:15-18
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News

Jesus showed himself to the Eleven and said to them:
‘Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; he who does not believe will be condemned. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 24, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We are all called to discipleship but the Lord our God had appointed amongst us leaders; fallible men and women alike to lead us closer to Him through holiness by the grace in which He anointed them. They may very be far from perfect but just like us, it is through Christ alone that we and our endeavours are perfected. Even if they sometimes lead us to the wrong path, still the Lord can make straight crooked lines. We must always be obedient to His anointed leaders so long as it not opposed to our faith and morals in our Lord Jesus Christ. And if they stray, His justice will prevail.

By our confirmation we have all already been commissioned, that is by our anointing sent to share the good news of our faith in our Lord Jesus. We have received the power from on high to share in His love, teach, heal and through many other gifts for which we are to build His Kingdom. What are we waiting for? Are we seeking further confirmation or affirmation by our brethren before doing anything or for some anything more? As St Paul aptly puts it across to us in Galatians 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Let us Go! already, as we have been called to; to make disciples of all nations. Amen

First reading

1 Samuel 24:3-21
I will not raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed

Saul took three thousand men chosen from the whole of Israel and went in search of David and his men east of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheepfolds along the route where there was a cave, and went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were sitting in the recesses of the cave; David’s men said to him, ‘Today is the day of which the Lord said to you, “I will deliver your enemy into your power, do what you like with him.”’ David stood up and, unobserved, cut off the border of Saul’s cloak. Afterwards David reproached himself for having cut off the border of Saul’s cloak. He said to his men, ‘The Lord preserve me from doing such a thing to my lord and raising my hand against him, for he is the anointed of the Lord.’ David gave his men strict instructions, forbidding them to attack Saul.
Saul then left the cave and went on his way. After this, David too left the cave and called after Saul, ‘My lord king!’ Saul looked behind him and David bowed to the ground and did homage. Then David said to Saul, ‘Why do you listen to the men who say to you, “David means to harm you”? Why, your own eyes have seen today how the Lord put you in my power in the cave and how I refused to kill you, but spared you. “I will not raise my hand against my lord,” I said “for he is the anointed of the Lord.” O my father, see, look at the border of your cloak in my hand. Since I cut off the border of your cloak, yet did not kill you, you must acknowledge frankly that there is neither malice nor treason in my mind. I have not offended against you, yet you hunt me down to take my life. May the Lord be judge between me and you, and may the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be laid on you. (As the old proverb says: Wickedness goes out from the wicked, and my hand will not be laid on you.) On whose trail has the king of Israel set out? On whose trail are you in hot pursuit? On the trail of a dead dog! On the trail of a single flea! May the Lord be the judge and decide between me and you; may he take up my cause and defend it and give judgement for me, freeing me from your power.’
When David had finished saying these words to Saul, Saul said, ‘Is that your voice, my son David?’ And Saul wept aloud. ‘You are a more upright man than I,’ he said to David ‘for you have repaid me with good while I have repaid you with evil. Today you have crowned your goodness towards me since the Lord had put me in your power yet you did not kill me. When a man comes on his enemy, does he let him go unmolested? May the Lord reward you for the goodness you have shown me today. Now I know you will indeed reign and that the sovereignty in Israel will be secure in your hands.’

Gospel

Mark 3:13-19
He appointed twelve to be his companions

Jesus went up into the hills and summoned those he wanted. So they came to him and he appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils. And so he appointed the Twelve: Simon to whom he gave the name Peter, James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges or ‘Sons of Thunder’; then Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the man who was to betray him.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 23, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Envy often builds into jealousy and is prevalent everywhere. It can be found in the workplace, in church even at home between siblings. Why does it happen? Well for one it is due to our fallen nature which makes us susceptible to sin. However that is not to say we cannot resist it entirely. Especially if we are grounded in our faith and in our love for our Lord Jesus Christ; and in the certitude that we are all children so loved by our Heavenly Father who has no favourites.

Yes jealousy can happen even in church, even though everyone starts with the purest of intentions to simply serve the Lord and our brethren. Let us not forget that even the disciples squabbled amongst themselves at who among them was the greatest. They at that point walked with Christ, but did not walk in Christ. They like many in our day are not filled with the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore they struggle with insecurities but lash out at others thinking they know better, are holier, are more prayerful, are more Christ centric then others. Some leaders shut their ears with palm facing out to ideas or concerns raised which are not align to their own. They often force their agendas in the guise that it is for the greater good.

Let us pray for one another, our families, especially our Church leaders. That our eyes, ears and hearts will always be open to recognise that we need the Son of God, our Lord Jesus in the very centre of our lives. And so we strive each day to unite ourselves more fully with Him. So that through Him, with Him and in Him, we will glorify the Lord our God in all that we say and do. Amen

First reading

1 Samuel 18:6-9,19:1-7
Saul’s envy and Jonathan’s loyal friendship

On their way back, as David was returning after killing the Philistine, the women came out to meet King Saul from all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing to the sound of tambourine and lyre and cries of joy; and as they danced the women sang:

‘Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.’

Saul was very angry; the incident was not to his liking. ‘They have given David the tens of thousands,’ he said ‘but me only the thousands; he has all but the kingship now.’ And Saul turned a jealous eye on David from that day forward.
Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants of his intention to kill David. Now Jonathan, Saul’s son, held David in great affection; and so Jonathan warned David; ‘My father Saul is looking for a way to kill you,’ he said ‘so be on your guard tomorrow morning; hide away in some secret place. Then I will go out and keep my father company in the fields where you are hiding, and will talk to my father about you; I will find out what the situation is and let you know.’
So Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father; he said, ‘Let not the king sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you, and what he has done has been greatly to your advantage. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it yourself and rejoiced; why then sin against innocent blood in killing David without cause?’ Saul was impressed by Jonathan’s words and took an oath, ‘As the Lord lives, I will not kill him.’ Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Then Jonathan brought him to Saul, and David attended on him as before.

Gospel

Mark 3:7-12
He warned them not to make him known as the Son of God

Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make him known.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 22, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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No mountain too high, no odds too great, no obstacle too wide, no problem too huge to overcome when the Lord our God is by our side. For we have been anointed His Holy ones. And He is ever Faithful to those who are faithful. What have we carefully chosen to bring with us to battle? What are the smooth stones we carry? The Word of God our beloved treasure trove? Our devoted life of prayer? Our conviction and work ethic towards building our Lord’s kingdom? Our humble contrite spirit ever seeking our Lord’s grace through reconciliation and Holy Eucharist?

If we say Jesus is our Lord and saviour then we must always choose good over evil, life over death. Let us then strive this day and everyday, with all our hearts, with all our minds, to do good and to save lives; through Him, with Him and in Him. Amen

First reading

1 Samuel 17:32-33,37,40-51
David and Goliath

David said to Saul, ‘Let no-one lose heart on his account; your servant will go and fight the Philistine.’ But Saul answered David, ‘You cannot go and fight the Philistine; you are only a boy and he has been a warrior from his youth.’
‘The Lord who rescued me from the claws of lion and bear’ David said ‘will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.’ Then Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’
He took his staff in his hand, picked five smooth stones from the river bed, put them in his shepherd’s bag, in his pouch, and with his sling in his hand he went to meet the Philistine. The Philistine, his shield-bearer in front of him, came nearer and nearer to David; and the Philistine looked at David, and what he saw filled him with scorn, because David was only a youth, a boy of fresh complexion and pleasant bearing. The Philistine said to him, ‘Am I a dog for you to come against me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, ‘Come over here and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.’ But David answered the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have dared to insult. Today the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I shall kill you; I will cut off your head, and this very day I will give your dead body and the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord gives the victory, for the Lord is lord of the battle and he will deliver you into our power.’
No sooner had the Philistine started forward to confront David than David left the line of battle and ran to meet the Philistine. Putting his hand in his bag, he took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; the stone penetrated his forehead and he fell on his face to the ground. Thus David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone and struck the Philistine down and killed him. David had no sword in his hand. Then David ran and, standing over the Philistine, seized his sword and drew it from the scabbard, and with this he killed him, cutting off his head. The Philistines saw that their champion was dead, and took to flight.

Gospel

Mark 3:1-6
Is it against the law on the sabbath day to save life?

Jesus went into a synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand. And they were watching him to see if he would cure him on the sabbath day, hoping for something to use against him. He said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Stand up out in the middle!’ Then he said to them, ‘Is it against the law on the sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to kill?’ But they said nothing. Then, grieved to find them so obstinate, he looked angrily round at them, and said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out and his hand was better. The Pharisees went out and at once began to plot with the Herodians against him, discussing how to destroy him.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 21, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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The Lord our God will qualify those that He calls.

Wonderful, affirming, encouraging and certainly true! However many have used this loosely to serve their own purpose in the time they had decided upon. They failed to discern with patience the Lord’s choice after His own heart. Yet had the audacity to say that the Lord will qualify those that He calls when the folks they chose were of their own calling! See then the quality of the fruits if any at all! Samuel patiently waited on the Lord; even after going through seven sons one might assume the perfect number, yet it was the eighth in whom the Lord saw fitting. Not quite a man yet a man after God’s heart.

So then who is in charge? If we call our Lord Jesus Christ master, then would it not be wise to wait on Him? For it is He who will anoint us and those He has chosen. Amen

First reading

1 Samuel 16:1-13
Jesse’s youngest son David is anointed king

The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you go on mourning over Saul when I have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.’ Samuel replied, ‘How can I go? When Saul hears of it he will kill me.’ Then the Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.” Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and then I myself will tell you what you must do; you must anoint to me the one I point out to you.’
Samuel did what the Lord ordered and went to Bethlehem. The elders of the town came trembling to meet him and asked, ‘Seer, have you come with good intentions towards us?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ He purified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they arrived, he caught sight of Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed one stands there before him’, but the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.’ Jesse then called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel, who said, ‘The Lord has not chosen this one either.’ Jesse then presented Shammah, but Samuel said, ‘The Lord has not chosen this one either.’ Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ He then asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ He answered, ‘There is still one left, the youngest; he is out looking after the sheep.’ Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he comes.’ Jesse had him sent for, a boy of fresh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing. The Lord said, ‘Come, anoint him, for this is the one.’ At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David and stayed with him from that day on. As for Samuel, he rose and went to Ramah.

Gospel

Mark 2:23-28
The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath

One sabbath day, Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples began to pick ears of corn as they went along. And the Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing something on the sabbath day that is forbidden?’ And he replied, ‘Did you never read what David did in his time of need when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the loaves of offering which only the priests are allowed to eat, and how he also gave some to the men with him?’
And he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; the Son of Man is master even of the sabbath.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 20, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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If we are to grow in our faith and love of the Lord our God then we must turn away from old habits, even people who will lead us to temptation and sin. We cannot hold back or retain a tiny bit fooling ourselves into believing we have the power to resist the lures. How many turn back to gambling, clubs seeking reprieve from stress through alcohol and sexual escapades. Or some other form of sinful habits. How many turn to the cliques that will cheer us on as we spiral downwards? Why look back when we have found the Lord? Or rather He had found us, carried us on His shoulders and had set us free. Why allow ourselves to fall back into slavery?

Obedience to the Lord our God must always be our first and even perhaps our only priority. For His call to purity and Holiness is so that we can live fully alive and free in His love. We have new life in Him! New wine, fresh skins!’

Strengthen me Lord Jesus in Your love, that I may be Holy as You are Holy. Amen

First reading

1 Samuel 15:16-23 ·
Saul disobeys the Lord and the Lord rejects him

Samuel said to Saul, ‘Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.’ Saul said, ‘Tell me.’ Samuel continued, ‘Small as you may be in your own eyes, are you not head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king over Israel. The Lord sent you on a mission and said to you, “Go, put these sinners, the Amalekites, under the ban and make war on them until they are exterminated.” Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you fall on the booty and do what is displeasing to the Lord?’ Saul replied to Samuel, ‘But I did obey the voice of the Lord. I went on the mission which the Lord gave me; I brought back Agag king of the Amalekites; I put the Amalekites under the ban. From the booty the people took the best sheep and oxen of what was under the ban to sacrifice them to the Lord your God in Gilgal.’ But Samuel replied:

‘Is the pleasure of the Lord in holocausts and sacrifices
or in obedience to the voice of the Lord?
Yes, obedience is better than sacrifice,
submissiveness better than the fat of rams.
Rebellion is a sin of sorcery,
presumption a crime of teraphim.

‘Since you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.’

Gospel

Mark 2:18-22
‘Why do your disciples not fast?’

One day when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Why is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of fasting while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they could not think of fasting. But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then, on that day, they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak; if he does, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. And nobody puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine, fresh skins!’

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted: January 18, 2020 by CatholicJules in Sunday Reflections
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Perfect Offering: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings:

Isaiah 49:3, 5–6
Psalm 40:2, 4, 7–10
1 Corinthians 1:1–3
John 1:29–34

Jesus speaks through the prophet Isaiah in today’s First Reading.

He tells us of the mission given to Him by the Father from the womb: “‘You are My servant,’ He said to Me.” Servant and Son, our Lord was sent to lead a new exodus—to raise up the exiled tribes of Israel, to gather and restore them to God. More than that, He was to be a light to the nations, that God’s salvation may reach to the ends of the earth (see Acts 13:46–47).

Before the first exodus, a lamb was offered in sacrifice and its blood painted on the Israelites’ door posts. The blood of the lamb identified their homes and the Lord “passed over” these in executing judgment on the Egyptians (see Exodus 12:1–23, 27).

In the new exodus, Jesus is the “Lamb of God,” as John beholds Him in the Gospel today (see 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19). Our Lord sings of this in today’s Psalm. He has come, He says, to offer His body to do the will of God (see Hebrews 10:3–13).
The sacrifices, oblations, holocausts, and sin offerings given after the first exodus had no power to take away sins (see Hebrews 10:4). They were meant not to save but to teach (see Galatians 3:24). In offering these sacrifices, the people were to learn self-sacrifice—that they were made for worship, to offer themselves freely to God and to delight in His will.

Only Jesus could make that perfect offering of Himself. And through His sacrifice, He has given us ears open to obedience, He has made it possible for us to hear the Father’s call to holiness, as Paul says in today’s Epistle.
He has made us children of God, baptized in the blood of the Lamb (see Revelation 7:14). And we are to join our sacrifice to His, to offer our bodies—our lives—as living sacrifices in the spiritual worship of the Mass (see Romans 12:1).

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 18, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Our Lord Jesus Christ has come for me and you. To save us from our sins and to set us free. Let us listen to His call to follow Him. Have we already forgotten that by our baptism we have been anointed priest, prophet and King?

Yes we had been consecrated, set apart to light and guard, to rule and guide others unto Him. To build His Kingdom. Are we then living in the light of Christ? Are we then sharing His light with others? Proclaiming His love for one and all?

Thank You Jesus for in Your love, You have called me to follow You. You have healed and set me free. Let me be a disciple after Your own heart. Amen

First reading

1 Samuel 9:1-4,17-19,10:1 ·
The Lord chooses Saul as king; Samuel anoints him

Among the men of Benjamin there was a man named Kish son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah; a Benjaminite and a man of rank. He had a son named Saul, a handsome man in the prime of life. Of all the Israelites there was no one more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders taller than the rest of the people.Lord Jesus Christ has ch Now some of the she-donkeys of Saul’s father Kish had strayed, so Kish said to Saul, ‘My son, take one of the servants with you and be off; go and look for the she-donkeys.’ They passed through the highlands of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but did not find them; they passed through the land of Shaalim, they were not there; they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.
When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, ‘That is the man of whom I told you; he shall rule my people.’ Saul accosted Samuel in the gateway and said, ‘Tell me, please, where the seer’s house is?’ Samuel replied to Saul, ‘I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place. You are to eat with me today. In the morning I shall take leave of you and tell you all that is in your heart.’
Samuel took a phial of oil and poured it on Saul’s head; then he kissed him, saying, ‘Has not the Lord anointed you prince over his people Israel? You are the man who must rule the Lord’s people, and who must save them from the power of the enemies surrounding them.’

Gospel

Mark 2:13-17

Jesus went out to the shore of the lake; and all the people came to him, and he taught them. As he was walking on he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus, sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
When Jesus was at dinner in his house, a number of tax collectors and sinners were also sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many of them among his followers. When the scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this he said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 17, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Jesus You are my Lord of Lords, King of Kings!

But…..

My family, decisions, plans and all, must take first priority.
My business is my business, decisions, plans, I run it as I see fit.
A full hour is set aside for You on Sundays Lord, the rest is ‘me time’ ok? OK.
I won’t trouble You with my travel and leisure plans afterall I have to make my own decisions no? Yes!
There’s more… But after all else…

Jesus You are my Lord of Lords, King of Kings!

Unless we submit ourselves to the full authority of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ we have not truly lived! For He is the source of all life! Disconnected from the vine, the branches no matter how rich and plump will ever eventually whither and die. Many however still think or even believe that coming under the lordship of Jesus we become His slaves with no free will, and so they are fearful. How far from the truth! We are not slaves but are in actual fact, sons and daughters of God our Father fully alive and free. For through Jesus His Son, our sins are forgiven. Through His mercy and love, He bestows His healing grace upon us. Through Him we have life to the full. Serving Him and our brethren brings us great joy, love and peace.

And so sisters and brothers let us cry out to our Lord and God…..

Jesus You are my Lord of Lords, King of Kings! And I submit myself to Your Holy Will. Amen

First reading

1 Samuel 8:4-7,10-22 ·

The people of Israel demand a king

All the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ‘Look,’ they said to him ‘you are old, and your sons do not follow your ways. So give us a king to rule over us, like the other nations.’ It displeased Samuel that they should say, ‘Let us have a king to rule us’, so he prayed to the Lord. But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for it is not you they have rejected; they have rejected me from ruling over them.’

All that the Lord had said Samuel repeated to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, ‘These will be the rights of the king who is to reign over you. He will take your sons and assign them to his chariotry and cavalry, and they will run in front of his chariot. He will use them as leaders of a thousand and leaders of fifty; he will make them plough his ploughland and harvest his harvest and make his weapons of war and the gear for his chariots. He will also take your daughters as perfumers, cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields, of your vineyards and olive groves and give them to his officials. He will tithe your crops and vineyards to provide for his eunuchs and his officials. He will take the best of your manservants and maidservants, of your cattle and your donkeys, and make them work for him. He will tithe your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out on account of the king you have chosen for yourselves, but on that day God will not answer you.’

The people refused to listen to the words of Samuel. They said, ‘No! We want a king, so that we in our turn can be like the other nations; our king shall rule us and be our leader and fight our battles.’ Samuel listened to all that the people had to say and repeated it in the ears of the Lord. The Lord then said to Samuel, ‘Obey their voice and give them a king.’

Gospel

Mark 2:1-12

The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins

When Jesus returned to Capernaum, word went round that he was back; and so many people collected that there was no room left, even in front of the door. He was preaching the word to them when some people came bringing him a paralytic carried by four men, but as the crowd made it impossible to get the man to him, they stripped the roof over the place where Jesus was; and when they had made an opening, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic lay. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘My child, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some scribes were sitting there, and they thought to themselves, ‘How can this man talk like that? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God?’ Jesus, inwardly aware that this was what they were thinking, said to them, ‘Why do you have these thoughts in your hearts? Which of these is easier: to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven” or to say, “Get up, pick up your stretcher and walk”? But to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ – he turned to the paralytic – ‘I order you: get up, pick up your stretcher, and go off home.’ And the man got up, picked up his stretcher at once and walked out in front of everyone, so that they were all astounded and praised God saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 16, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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With all religious piety of attending daily Eucharist, praying our daily devotionals and reading the word have we truly grown in our love for Jesus and for one another? How is this evident in our lives? Are others drawn to our faith by the way we live our lives? Do we have every confidence that when we face the challenges and battles ahead, the Lord our God is truly present with us every step of the way?

The Lord our God truly sees into the depths of our heart. There is nothing we can hide from Him. He not only sees our pain and struggle, He profoundly identifies and shares in it. And so in His mercy and love He truly wants to set us free when we cry out to Him. And He will do so, so that we can live freely in His love. The grace and power of the Lord our God resides in the hearts of His faithful not in the physical weapons they wield in their fight against evil. So let us guard our hearts against all evil and sin striving always to grow in Holiness through the grace of our ever loving God.

Jesus my Lord, be present with me this day and everyday. Amen

First reading

1 Samuel 4:1-11 ·
Israel is defeated and the ark of God is captured

It happened at that time that the Philistines mustered to fight Israel and Israel went out to meet them in battle, encamping near Ebenezer while the Philistines were encamped at Aphek. The Philistines drew up their battle line against Israel, the battle was hotly engaged, and Israel was defeated by the Philistines and about four thousand of their army were killed on the field. The troops returned to the camp and the elders of Israel said, ‘Why has the Lord allowed us to be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of our God from Shiloh so that it may come among us and rescue us from the power of our enemies.’’ So the troops sent to Shiloh and brought away the ark of the Lord of Hosts, he who is seated on the cherubs; the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, came with the ark. When the ark of the Lord arrived in the camp, all Israel gave a great shout so that the earth resounded. When the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, ‘What can this great shouting in the Hebrew camp mean?’ And they realised that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. At this the Philistines were afraid; and they said, ‘God has come to the camp.’ ‘Alas!’ they cried ‘This has never happened before. Alas! Who will save us from the power of this mighty God? It was he who struck down Egypt with every kind of plague! But take courage and be men, Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been slaves to you. Be men and fight.’ So the Philistines joined battle and Israel was defeated, each man fleeing to his tent. The slaughter was great indeed, and there fell of the Israelites thirty thousand foot soldiers. The ark of God was captured too, and the two sons of Eli died, Hophni and Phinehas.

Gospel

Mark 1:40-45
The leprosy left the man at once, and he was cured

A leper came to Jesus and pleaded on his knees: ‘If you want to’ he said ‘you can cure me.’ Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. ‘Of course I want to!’ he said. ‘Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once and he was cured. Jesus immediately sent him away and sternly ordered him, ‘Mind you say nothing to anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest, and make the offering for your healing prescribed by Moses as evidence of your recovery.’ The man went away, but then started talking about it freely and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into any town, but had to stay outside in places where nobody lived. Even so, people from all around would come to him.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 15, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Lord help me listen to Your sweet voice.

So caught up with the many challenges in life that we face our prayer life if any, is often about asking, asking, more asking even pleading for ourselves, our loved ones or those who have asked us to pray. If not it is about telling, telling, more telling, a running commentary of our days and nights, with instructions for our Lord on how and what help is needed. What kind of relationship do we have with the Lord our God? Is it a right relationship? Is the Lord our God a vending machine or an ATM? Where we select what we want and automatically it must be dispensed? And if we don’t receive what we want then we complain for lack of service or a timely one at that!? Are we God and He our person? Who is the master and who is the servant?

Have we not learnt in our own relationships with others that the key to a meaningful, fruitful relationship is our about ability and resolve to listen to the heart of the other. What we are saying by our action of active listening is that the person or persons speaking to us are important, we honour them by patiently listening. We hear and see what their hearts are saying and in essence we listen with our hearts.

All the more our relationship with the Lord our God should be like this and more, such that our prayer life is one of listening to His Will and Word for us. There is nothing wrong with intercessory prayers or even sharing with Him how our day went but more time must be set aside for listening to Him. For His Word is life giving, it ministers to us, nourishing us and conferring the grace and strength we need to face and tackle the challenges we face in life. It also enables us to share His love, the good news of our salvation, so that all who will listen can share in the eternal glory with God our Heavenly Father.

Lord help me listen to Your sweet voice. Amen

First reading

1 Samuel 3:1-10,19-20 ·
‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’

The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli; it was rare for the Lord to speak in those days; visions were uncommon. One day, it happened that Eli was lying down in his room. His eyes were beginning to grow dim; he could no longer see. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying in the sanctuary of the Lord where the ark of God was, when the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ Then he ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, since you called me.’ Eli said, ‘I did not call. Go back and lie down.’ So he went and lay down. Once again the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, since you called me.’ He replied, ‘I did not call you, my son; go back and lie down.’ Samuel had as yet no knowledge of the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. Once again the Lord called, the third time. He got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, since you called me.’ Eli then understood that it was the Lord who was calling the boy, and he said to Samuel, ‘Go and lie down, and if someone calls say, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
The Lord then came and stood by, calling as he had done before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Samuel answered, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’
Samuel grew up and the Lord was with him and let no word of his fall to the ground. All Israel from Dan to Beersheba came to know that Samuel was accredited as a prophet of the Lord.

Gospel

Mark 1:29-39
He cast out devils and cured many who were suffering from disease

On leaving the synagogue, Jesus went with James and John straight to the house of Simon and Andrew. Now Simon’s mother-in-law had gone to bed with fever, and they told him about her straightaway. He went to her, took her by the hand and helped her up. And the fever left her and she began to wait on them.
That evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were possessed by devils. The whole town came crowding round the door, and he cured many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another; he also cast out many devils, but he would not allow them to speak, because they knew who he was.
In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed there. Simon and his companions set out in search of him, and when they found him they said, ‘Everybody is looking for you.’ He answered, ‘Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I can preach there too, because that is why I came.’ And he went all through Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out devils.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 14, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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How many this day will offer up their children to God for priesthood or the religious life? And really encourage and nurture them such that they are able to respond to the call. Fully aware that it is a sacred call to be set apart for such service and a great blessing for all! Nay most are primarily concerned that their family name continues and who it is that will, or rather must care for them in their old age. And if not for these reasons they feel they know what is best for their own children and that there will always be someone else better suited for this calling. Really? What if everyone thought this way? The real question we should be asking is, whose authority is it that we all come under? Who is it that should decide what is best for us? Do we actually mean what we pray…. Thy kingdom come, thy Will be done!?

Indeed we all have different gifts and talents. Each and everyone of us has a vocation in life to be the best that they can be for the Lord their God and for one another. In order to this, we must carefully discern our Lord’s call for us and we can only do so when we willingly and wholeheartedly subject ourselves to His Holy Will for us.

Here I am Lord, I come to do Your Will. Amen

First reading

1 Samuel 1:9-20
The Lord is mindful of Hannah and she gives birth to Samuel

After they had eaten in the hall, Hannah rose and took her stand before the Lord, while Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. In the bitterness of her soul she prayed to the Lord with many tears and made a vow, saying, ‘O Lord of Hosts! If you will take notice of the distress of your servant, and bear me in mind and not forget your servant and give her a man-child, I will give him to the Lord for the whole of his life and no razor shall ever touch his head.’
While she prayed before the Lord which she did for some time, Eli was watching her mouth, for she was speaking under her breath; her lips were moving but her voice could not be heard. He therefore supposed that she was drunk and said to her, ‘How long are you going to be in this drunken state? Rid yourself of your wine.’ ‘No, my lord,’ Hannah replied ‘I am a woman in great trouble; I have taken neither wine nor strong drink – I was pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not take your maidservant for a worthless woman; all this time I have been speaking from the depth of my grief and my resentment.’ Then Eli answered her: ‘Go in peace,’ he said ‘and may the God of Israel grant what you have asked of him.’ And she said, ‘May your maidservant find favour in your sight’; and with that the woman went away; she returned to the hall and ate and was dejected no longer.
They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord and then set out and returned to their home in Ramah. Elkanah had intercourse with Hannah his wife and the Lord was mindful of her. She conceived and gave birth to a son, and called him Samuel ‘since’ she said ‘I asked the Lord for him.’

Gospel

Mark 1:21-28
Unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority

Jesus and his disciples went as far as Capernaum, and as soon as the sabbath came he went to the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.
In their synagogue just then there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit and it shouted, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him. The people were so astonished that they started asking each other what it all meant. ‘Here is a teaching that is new’ they said ‘and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean spirits and they obey him.’ And his reputation rapidly spread everywhere, through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 13, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Fidelity to the Lord our God and our willingness to put all else aside to respond to His Will for us. This is our call today to greater discipleship.

Let us reflect on how faithful are we to the Lord our God? How often do we worship Him and give Him thanks for all His blessings upon us? Daily? Weekly? Annually? Are we hopeful and eager to bear fruit for our Lord? Are we willing to suffer taunts for His namesake? Do we love and revere Him above all? How wonderful to hear the loving voice of our bridegroom remind us; “Am I not more to You then anything or anyone else?” ”For I love you with an everlasting love.”

And so are we able to leave our life in the world behind to follow Him? To let go of any insecurities, perceived shortcomings so as to become instruments of His grace. For we trust and know that all things are possible through and with Him. And so we carry our cross to follow Him. As we cast the net of His Love far and wide to draw as many we can to Him. Amen

First reading

1 Samuel 1:1-8 ·
Hannah’s rival taunts her for being barren

There was a man of Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the highlands of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives, one called Hannah, the other Peninnah; Peninnah had children but Hannah had none. Every year this man used to go up from his town to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of Hosts in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there as priests of
One day Elkanah offered sacrifice. He and used to give portions to Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; to Hannah, however, he would give only one portion, although he loved her more, since the Lord had made her barren. Her rival would taunt her to annoy her, because the Lord had made her barren. And this went on year after year; every time they went up to the temple of the Lord she used to taunt her. And so Hannah wept and would not eat. Then Elkanah her husband said to her, ‘Hannah, why are you crying and why are you not eating? Why so sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?’

Gospel

Mark 1:14-20
I will make you into fishers of men

After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.’
As he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at once they left their nets and followed him.
Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.

Baptism of the Lord

Posted: January 11, 2020 by CatholicJules in Sunday Reflections
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Anointed Ones: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Baptism of the Lord

Readings:

Isaiah 42:1–4, 6–7
Psalm 29:1–4, 9–10
Acts 10:34–38
Matthew 3:13–17

Jesus presents himself for baptism in today’s Gospel not because He is a sinner, but to fulfill the word of God proclaimed by His prophets. He must be baptized to reveal that He is the Christ (“anointed one”)—the Spirit-endowed Servant promised by Isaiah in today’s First Reading.

His baptism marks the start of a new world, a new creation. As Isaiah prophesied, the Spirit descends upon Jesus like a dove—as the Spirit hovered over the face of the deep in the beginning (see Genesis 1:2).
As it was in the beginning, at the Jordan also the majestic voice of the Lord thunders above the waters. The Father opens the heavens and declares Jesus to be His “beloved son.”

God had long prepared the Israelites for His coming, as Peter preaches in today’s Second Reading. Jesus was anticipated in the “beloved son” given to Abraham (see Genesis 22:2, 12, 26), and in the calling of Israel as His “first-born son” (see Exodus 4:22–23). Jesus is the divine son begotten by God, the everlasting heir promised to King David (see Psalm 2:7; 2 Samuel 7:14).

He is “a covenant of the people [Israel]” and “a light to the nations,” Isaiah says. By the new covenant made in His blood (see 1 Corinthians 11:25), God has gathered the lost sheep of Israel together with whoever fears Him in every nation.

Christ has become the source from which God pours out His Spirit on Israelites and Gentiles alike (see Acts 10:45). In Baptism, all are anointed with that same Spirit, made beloved sons and daughters of God. Indeed, we are Christians—literally “anointed ones.”

We are the “sons of God” in today’s Psalm—called to give glory to His name in His temple. Let us pray that we remain faithful to our calling as His children, that our Father might call us what he calls His Son, “my beloved . . . in whom I am well pleased.”

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 11, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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God has no favourites as we are reminded in tomorrow’s second reading on the feast of the baptism of our Lord. And so we are so lavishly loved and gifted according to His Will for us. And if others have the same gift but are better at it, we must rejoice for it had been put to very good use for our Lord! If indeed we are lacking of anything to build His kingdom, to serve Him or brethen in love, we need only pray and He will provide for all that we need.

All sin is bad whether venial or mortal. Therefore we must avoid any and all sin. For even little ones will always lead to bigger and more terrible ones. If we fall into sin then we must quickly do all that we need to come back into full union with our Lord whether it be as simple as a contrite prayer or going for the Sacrament of reconciliation. There are two sins that I feel we need to guard ourselves against especially those of us who try our best to serve others through discipleship of our Lord Jesus Christ; that is spiritual pride and spiritual envy! For our service becomes a big zero as we end up serving no one but our own egos. What we say and do only drives others away instead of leading them closer to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us pray for one another to remain steadfast in our love and service of Him and one another. All for His glory now and forever. Amen

First reading

1 John 5:14-21 ·
If we ask for anything, he will hear us

We are quite confident that if we ask the Son of God for anything, and it is in accordance with his will,
he will hear us; and, knowing that whatever we may ask, he hears us, we know that we have already been granted what we asked of him.
If anybody sees his brother commit a sin that is not a deadly sin, he has only to pray, and God will give life to the sinner – not those who commit a deadly sin; for there is a sin that is death and I will not sa that you must pray about that. Every kind of wrong-doing is sin, but not all sin is deadly.

We know that anyone who has been begotten by God does not sin, because the begotten Son of God protects him, and the Evil One does not touch him.
We know that we belong to God, but the whole world lies in the power of the Evil One.
We know, too, that the Son of God has come, and has given us the power to know the true God. We are in the true God,
as we are in his Son, Jesus Christ.
This is the true God, this is eternal life. Children, be on your guard against false gods.

Gospel

John 3:22-30
‘He must grow greater and I must grow smaller: my joy is complete’

Jesus went with his disciples into the Judaean countryside and stayed with them there and baptised. At the same time John was baptising at Aenon near Salim, where there was plenty of water, and people were going there to be baptised. This was before John had been put in prison.
Now some of John’s disciples had opened a discussion with a Jew about purification, so they went to John and said, ‘Rabbi, the man who was with you on the far side of the Jordan, the man to whom you bore witness, is baptising now; and everyone is going to him.’
John replied:

‘A man can lay claim
only to what is given him from heaven.

‘You yourselves can bear me out: I said: I myself am not the Christ; I am the one who has been sent in front of him.

‘The bride is only for the bridegroom; and yet the bridegroom’s friend, who stands there and listens, is glad when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This same joy I feel, and now it is complete. He must grow greater, I must grow smaller.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 10, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We often don’t dwell on our baptism enough. For most it was a one time thing of the past necessary but over and done with. How far from the truth it is. For it was the day we were born again into new life with Christ! An indelible seal was placed upon us and we became for all eternity God our Father’s children. We were made Holy, set apart. Likewise we do not dwell enough on the supreme gift of the Holy Eucharist, where through the Holy sacrifice of the lamb of God, by His precious body and blood we have life eternal with Him. We become partakers of His divinity which gives us the power to overcome all evil and sin. For some it has simply become a habit, a routine we go through, to check off our to-do-list. How far wrong can we be? Perhaps this is one of the reasons we fall easily into sin, we do not dwell and immerse ourselves in the love of our Lord through pray and recollection. We are not grateful enough for the multitude of blessings and graces given to us and so do not give rightful praise and thanksgiving to God daily.

Anyone who has fallen and living in sin knows how life draining it is. We simply have no life in us. We live day to day in a dreary existence always hoping for more, wanting more. Turn back to the Lord! For like the leper in today’s Gospel we too can cry out to Jesus, “Lord if you want to You can cure me.” And He will surely cure us because He loves us and wants us to live fully in His love. A contrite spirit He will not spurn.

Today let us choose to never take the love of our Lord Jesus Christ for granted. Let us dwell in His love, on the precious and Holy Sacraments we have been given which renews us and gives us life. Let us offer our praise and thanksgiving through an increased and greater prayer life, which only leads us closer to Him who loves us dearly. Glory and Praise be to God. Amen

First reading

1 John 5:5-13
There are three witnesses: the Spirit and the water and the blood

Who can overcome the world?
Only the man who believes that Jesus is the Son of God:
Jesus Christ who came by water and blood,
not with water only, but with water and blood; with the Spirit as another witness –
since the Spirit is the truth – so that there are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water and the blood, and all three of them agree.
We accept the testimony of human witnesses, but God’s testimony is much greater,
and this is God’s testimony, given as evidence for his Son.
Everybody who believes in the Son of God
has this testimony inside him; and anyone who will not believe God is making God out to be a liar, because he has not trusted
the testimony God has given about his Son.
This is the testimony:
God has given us eternal life and this life is in his Son; anyone who has the Son has life,
anyone who does not have the Son does not have life.

I have written all this to you so that you who believe in the name of the Son of God may be sure that you have eternal life.

Gospel

Luke 5:12-16
‘If you want to, you can cure me’

Jesus was in one of the towns when a man appeared, covered with leprosy. Seeing Jesus he fell on his face and implored him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And the leprosy left him at once. He ordered him to tell no one, ‘But go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering for your healing as Moses prescribed it, as evidence for them.’
His reputation continued to grow, and large crowds would gather to hear him and to have their sickness cured, but he would always go off to some place where he could be alone and pray.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 9, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Both the vertical and horizontal dimension of the cross in which our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ hung for love of us serves as a great and loving reminder; that He died not just for you and me but for all of us! That by liberating us from sin we are not just united in Him individually but with one another in Him. Therefore all of God’s children are One Body through our Lord Jesus Christ. Can we then say we love God but not our sister and brother in Christ?

Unforgiveness is in a sense a habitual sin! Why? Because we regularly by our own volition, refuse to allow God’s love and mercy to overshadow us. To allow His grace to set both our heart and that of our brethren free from the hurt, guilt and pain. Unintentionally perhaps we are saying that our Unforgiveness is greater than God’s love and mercy! Why should we allow ourselves to remain captives of the injustice done against us? Let our Lord set us free from all bondages so that we can live free and live to the full in His love as His disciples.

And as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, we will proclaim His love to all that we meet. We shall bring the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ to the poor, to proclaim His liberation to all captives of sin, His healing grace will come upon those who turn to Him and He will set the downtrodden free. That Jesus our Lord loves you and me, He loves us all! Amen

First reading

1 John 4:19-5:4
Anyone who loves God must also love his brother

We are to love, because God loved us first.
Anyone who says, ‘I love God’, and hates his brother, is a liar, since a man who does not love the brother that he can see cannot love God, whom he has never seen.
So this is the commandment that he has given us, that anyone who loves God must also love his brother.

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ
has been begotten by God; and whoever loves the Father that begot him loves the child whom he begets.
We can be sure that we love God’s children
if we love God himself and do what he has commanded us; this is what loving God is –
keeping his commandments; and his commandments are not difficult, because anyone who has been begotten by God
has already overcome the world; this is the victory over the world – our faith.

Gospel

Luke 4:14-22
‘This text is being fulfilled today, even as you listen’

Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in him, returned to Galilee; and his reputation spread throughout the countryside. He taught in their synagogues and everyone praised him.
He came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,
for he has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, ‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’ And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 8, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Today I ask myself, how fearless am I living in God’s love?

Do I awake with a restlessness in my heart of facing yet another uncertain day? Have I any sins that I have not renounced that prevent me from living fully in His love? Have I neglected my loving Lord by not entering into His presence through prayer and dwelling on His word and will for me? Have I quickly forgotten the wonders of His love in my life? Have I allowed myself to be distracted by the lures of the world that I have let Jesus pass me by numerous times? Will this like many days end where I do not speak of God’s love for me and for all?

Or do I awake refreshed ready to dwell again in the love of my Lord. Knowing that whatever lies ahead, Jesus my Lord is by my side. And so I start the day in praise and thanksgiving for the many blessings in my life and the many blessings I will receive by my faithfulness. I enter into His presence ready to listen to Him as I fall into His loving embrace. As far as possible I seek to unite myself with Him fully through Holy Eucharist, I then go about my day with one mind and one heart in Him. The day does not end without me speaking about His love either by speech or in writing. Only then is this a day well lived in His love.

I am fearless because I am perfectly loved by my Lord Jesus Christ! Amen

First reading

1 John 4:11-18 ·
As long as we love one another God’s love will be complete in us

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.

Love will come to its perfection in us
when we can face the day of Judgement without fear; because even in this world
we have become as he is.
In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love: because to fear is to expect punishment, and anyone who is afraid is still imperfect in love.

Gospel

Mark 6:45-52
His disciples saw him walking on the lake

After the five thousand had eaten and were filled, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to Bethsaida, while he himself sent the crowd away. After saying goodbye to them he went off into the hills to pray. When evening came, the boat was far out on the lake, and he was alone on the land. He could see they were worn out with rowing, for the wind was against them; and about the fourth watch of the night he came towards them, walking on the lake. He was going to pass them by, but when they saw him walking on the lake they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they had all seen him and were terrified. But he at once spoke to them, and said, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind dropped. They were utterly and completely dumbfounded, because they had not seen what the miracle of the loaves meant; their minds were closed.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 7, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Love of God, love from God, love for God, is love put into action. It is not dependent on how one feels nor anything remotely sentimental but rather a choice to act for the good of another. It is a ‘muscle’ that will grow big and strong over time when we exercise it regularly with even the smallest acts of service done in love. Be it at home, church, community or in the world. I will get up and prepare a meal for my children even though I am exhausted from working in the office. I will buy the expensive balm for my spouse who needs it even though I’m broke. I put away my games for love of my mom, to massage her aching shoulders. I will help serve at a second mass because they are short even though I have lots of housework to do. I will pray all the more fervently for you because you requested me to, even though I feel drained and spiritually dry. It all starts with simple, small acts of love.

Our Lord Jesus Christ did not simply say He loved us. He showed us how much He did by dying on the cross for us. He also showed us how much in the many little acts of mercy He performed. In today’s Gospel I hear Him tell me His disciple, don’t just have nice thoughts and concern for your brethren, give them something of yourself and tend to their needs. Start with what little you have and I will multiply it. I will act for love of you and your brethren!

Still there is much greater depth of God’s love for us in today’s Gospel. How He would one day give us our daily bread to nourish us body, mind and soul. And so this is fulfilled today, for He gives us of His humanity and elevates us through His divinity to full union with Him in Holy Eucharist. Glory and Praise to You, my Lord Jesus Christ! Amen

First reading

1 John 4:7-10 ·
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.

Gospel

Mark 6:34-44
The feeding of the five thousand

As Jesus stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length. By now it was getting very late, and his disciples came up to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place and it is getting very late. So send them away, and they can go to the farms and villages round about, to buy themselves something to eat.’ He replied, ‘Give them something to eat yourselves.’ They answered, ‘Are we to go and spend two hundred denarii on bread for them to eat?’ ‘How many loaves have you?’ he asked. ‘Go and see.’ And when they had found out they said, ‘Five, and two fish.’ Then he ordered them to get all the people together in groups on the green grass, and they sat down on the ground in squares of hundreds and fifties. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing; then he broke the loaves and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the people. He also shared out the two fish among them all. They all ate as much as they wanted. They collected twelve basketfuls of scraps of bread and pieces of fish. Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 6, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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As much as we would like to, we don’t always live in the light all of the time. From time to time darkness overshadows us in many various forms and we find ourselves stumbling, hoping and praying for a way out.

How wonderful for us who have indeed seen the great light! Our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ is that very light and we know with certainty that He will surely come to drive all darkness away. His saving hand is upon us ever ready to heal and restore us. So that we can live fully in His light. It is our duty therefore to bring His light to those dwell in darkness. So that they might come to know Him and live in His light.

Let us offer our prayers today for the nations who are undergoing darkness today, may the light of Christ shine through bringing them comfort, healing and peace. We pray for Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the rest of the world who face calamity, war and unrest. Amen

First reading

1 John 3:22-4:6
The Son of God has come and given us the power to know the true God

Whatever we ask God, we shall receive,
because we keep his commandments
and live the kind of life that he wants.
His commandments are these: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and that we love one another as he told us to.
Whoever keeps his commandments
lives in God and God lives in him. We know that he lives in us by the Spirit that he has given us.

It is not every spirit, my dear people, that you can trust; test them, to see if they come from God, there are many false prophets, now, in the world.
You can tell the spirits that come from God by this: every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh
is from God; but any spirit which will not say this of Jesus is not from God, but is the spirit of Antichrist, whose coming you were warned about.
Well, now he is here, in the world.
Children, you have already overcome these false prophets, because you are from God and you have in you one who is greater than anyone in this world; as for them, they are of the world, and so they speak the language of the world dand the world listens to them.
But we are children of God, and those who know God listen to us; those who are not of God refuse to listen to us.
This is how we can tell the spirit of truth from the spirit of falsehood.

Gospel

Matthew 4:12-17,23-25
The people that lived in darkness have seen a great light

Hearing that John had been arrested, Jesus went back to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth he went and settled in Capernaum, a lakeside town on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali. In this way the prophecy of Isaiah was to be fulfilled:

‘Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
Way of the sea on the far side of Jordan,
Galilee of the nations!
The people that lived in darkness has seen a great light; on those who dwell in the land and shadow of death a light has dawned.’

From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’
He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness among the people. His fame spread throughout Syria, and those who were suffering from diseases and painful complaints of one kind or another, the possessed, epileptics, the paralysed, were all brought to him, and he cured them. Large crowds followed him, coming from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judaea and Transjordania.

Dressed for service for God and for Community.

Posted: January 5, 2020 by CatholicJules in Life's Journeys
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Most ministries especially the liturgical ones have a dress code and for very good reasons. Quite often, though members refuse to adhere or try to intepret what was laid out if the dress code is not specific or detailed enough. Some insist on pictures to go with the guide. Question is why? Whom is it that you serve?

A brother in Christ recently shared that on his recent trip to a certain country for holiday, the extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion were in shorts when they gave out the body of Christ! When did service of God or community become one of personal comfort, convienience or practicality?

Those serving in liturgical ministries you are all Stewards of the Banquet and so are set apart for service. Just as priests put on their vestments, friars their robes, nuns their habits we are dressed in our Sunday best to honour, worship, adore the Lord and lead others into the sacred at Holy Eucharist! Men dress up as men ready to go serve! Most parishes would prescribe dark colour slacks, white long sleeve shirt, tie, leather dress shoes and SOCKS. NOT black jeans passing off as slacks and certainly not loafers but leather shoes preferably black. Perhaps there can be a fund set aside for those who cannot afford this basics. Those who can certainly afford it, should not come in worn leather shoes. Women should embrace their feminity and dress up as women, ensuring they are modestly dressed after the heart of our Blessed Mother. Outside of the liturgy they can dress as they deem fit again prayerfully after the heart of Blessed Mother. It is not about uniformity but rather conformity. We are declaring our unity as one Body In Christ.

This is a clear example of what I’m speaking of… A few years back while I was serving as EMHC at the 9:15am all my fellow brothers came appropriately dressed unlike some from the other mass timings where individualism was their thing. For the ladies we did not say a word on how they should dress other than they should be properly attired and modestly so. After a while almost all save for one came in black skirts below knee level, white long sleeve blouses which complimented the dressing of their fellow brothers in Christ serving. We were truly one and it felt really good because we served with one heart as well. I am very pleased to see that today all the EMHC brothers and sisters serving the 915am group are still appropriately dressed!

I know this topic can be sensitive and uncomfortable for some, but perhaps even if you disagree you might be open to reconsider your position on this…

Let us offer the gold of our hearts, in honour of our Lord of Lord, King of Kings. The incense of our prayers and our dressing up in worship, adoration and praise of the Lord our God. The myrrh of our humanity, in dying of self, especially pride; embracing humility to love and serve Him all the days of our lives

Feast of the Epiphany

Posted: January 4, 2020 by CatholicJules in Sunday Reflections
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A King to Behold: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Feast of the Epiphany

Readings:

Isaiah 60:1–6
Psalm 72:1–2, 7–8, 10–13
Ephesians 3:2–3, 5–6
Matthew 2:1–12

An “epiphany” is an appearance. In today’s readings, with their rising stars, splendorous lights, and mysteries revealed, the face of the child born on Christmas day appears.

Herod, in today’s Gospel, asks the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah is to be born. The answer Matthew puts on their lips says much more, combining two strands of Old Testament promise—one revealing the Messiah to be from the line of David (see 2 Samuel 2:5), the other predicting “a ruler of Israel” who will “shepherd his flock” and whose “greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth” (see Micah 5:1–3).

Those promises of Israel’s king ruling the nations resound also in today’s Psalm. The psalm celebrates David’s son, Solomon. His kingdom, we sing, will stretch “to the ends of the earth,” and the world’s kings will pay Him homage. That’s the scene too in today’s First Reading, as nations stream from the East, bearing “gold and frankincense” for Israel’s king.

The Magi’s pilgrimage in today’s Gospel marks the fulfillment of God’s promises. The Magi, probably Persian astrologers, are following the star that Balaam predicted would rise along with the ruler’s staff over the house of Jacob (see Numbers 24:17).
Laden with gold and spices, their journey evokes those made to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba and the “kings of the earth” (see 1 Kings 10:2, 25; 2 Chronicles 9:24). Interestingly, the only other places where frankincense and myrrh are mentioned together are in songs about Solomon (see Song of Songs 3:6, 4:6, 14).
One greater than Solomon is here (see Luke 11:31). He has come to reveal that all peoples are “co-heirs” of the royal family of Israel, as today’s Epistle teaches.

His manifestation forces us to choose: Will we follow the signs that lead to Him as the wise Magi did? Or will we be like those priests and the scribes who let God’s words of promise become dead letters on an ancient page?

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 4, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We are called to live out Holy lives worthily as children of God but actually doing so is very hard. Still we must strive to do so each and every day.

Let us not dwell on sin and in constant fear of sinning, but rather in the freedom purchased for us by Christ Jesus our Lord. We therefore endeavour to deepen our relationship with Him daily through prayer and through His living Word in Holy Scriptures. Living in His presence we will lead others to Him so that they too can live life fully in His love. Amen

Let us pray one Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be for our Holy Father Pope Francis’s intentions….

First reading

1 John 3:7-10 ·
No-one sins who has been begotten by God

My children, do not let anyone lead you astray: to live a holy life is to be holy just as he is holy; to lead a sinful life is to belong to the devil, since the devil was a sinner from the beginning.
It was to undo all that the devil has done
that the Son of God appeared.
No one who has been begotten by God sins; because God’s seed remains inside him, he cannot sin when he has been begotten by God.

In this way we distinguish the children of God from the children of the devil:
anybody not living a holy life jand not loving his brother is no child of God’s.

Gospel

John 1:35-42
‘We have found the Messiah’

As John stood with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God.’ Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, ‘What do you want?’ They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which means Teacher – ‘where do you live?’ ‘Come and see’ he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.
One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which means the Christ – and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning Rock.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 3, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Every morning as far as I can remember I have awoken praying first for my personal sanctification and holiness. Why? Because the temptation to sin is always before us! And sin with its super stickyness is ever waiting to pounce and prevent us from walking freely in the light of Christ. And so I pray for His grace to be upon me as I start out the day simply to live out my calling to be a child of God so loved by my Heavenly Father. To be Holy as He is Holy. Through and with His grace, I have a fighting chance to win the battle. I say chance even though it is a sure win with God on my side because I must cooperate and want to fight! Because there are times when I am in a state of inertia and often tempted to give in to the distractions.

Jesus the lamb of God my lord and saviour had died to free me from sin, and so the devil and all the evil that prowls about the earth has no hold over me! I can live free and fully in the light of my resurrected Lord and saviour Jesus Christ! Jesus saves; me, you and everyone who calls upon on His name.

By the Holy name of Jesus, I pray for you my dear sisters and brothers. That today and everyday you remain Holy and strive for greater Holiness. So that together we will live out our calling as children of God our Father, one Body In Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen

First reading

1 John 2:29-3:6
Everyone must try to be as pure as Christ

You know that God is righteous –
then you must recognise that everyone whose life is righteous has been begotten by him.

Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children;
and that is what we are.
Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us.
My dear people, we are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; all we know is, that when it is revealed we shall be like him
because we shall see him as he really is.

Surely everyone who entertains this hope
must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.
Anyone who sins at all breaks the law,
because to sin is to break the law.
Now you know that he appeared in order to abolish sin, and that in him there is no sin;
anyone who lives in God does not sin, and anyone who sins has never seen him or known him.

Gospel

John 1:29-34
‘Look: there is the Lamb of God’

Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This is the one I spoke of when I said: A man is coming after me who ranks before me because he existed before me. I did not know him myself, and yet it was to reveal him to Israel that I came baptising with water.’ John also declared, ‘I saw the Spirit coming down on him from heaven like a dove and resting on him. I did not know him myself, but he who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptise with the Holy Spirit.” Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the Chosen One of God.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 2, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Make a straight way for the Lord. Be steadfast in your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who has anointed you with the truth by your very own baptism. And He will surely come to you, His faithful and fill you with His presence.

This is my takeaway from today’s readings and what a brother in Christ Sully (not his real name) shared with me recently encapsulates it all nicely.

A couple of years back Sully who is a catechist had asked me what was it like to be in a faith community and what goes on at the prayer meetings. I was excited to share my experience and at the end invited him to ‘come and see’. He came one evening and thereafter remained in our community even getting his wife to join us. Sully is a very good natured man and is a delight to be around with. However he shared one day that while he truly belives in Christ and all, he had not encountered Him the way many of us described. He was amazed at how alive our faith was for some of us and was not quite sure his own faith was as ‘alive’ so to speak. I would describe Sully as a rather learned man who loves to read when he can, and one of his favourites is reading up on the writings of Blessed Archbishop Fulton Sheen. I was rather puzzled at how this loving man who teaches and shares the faith had not had a deep personal encounter with our Lord?

Anyhow just two days ago he shared his profound experience and encounter of our Lord’s love outpoured on him. He was apparently ill for over a week with high fever. Then as he was recovering he made a decision to give up on coffee. By doing so he found he had more energy the rest of the day and he could actually pray more. Then at a recent Eucharistic Celebration he felt the Outpouring of God’s love and teared as he had never before. He finally understood firsthand what we had been sharing with him. I was so thrilled and overjoyed to hear his testimony, and to witness the glow on his face. This loving man is transformed into being even more loving! Praise and glory be to Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

First reading

1 John 2:22-28 ·
The anointing he gave you teaches you everything

The man who denies that Jesus is the Christ – he is the liar, he is Antichrist; and he is denying the Father as well as the Son, because no one who has the Father can deny the Son, and to acknowledge the Son is to have the Father as well.
Keep alive in yourselves what you were taught in the beginning as long as what you were taught in the beginning is alive in faith,
you will live in the Son and in the Father;
and what is promised to you by his own promise is eternal life.
This is all that I am writing to you about the people who are trying to lead you astray.
But you have not lost the anointing that he gave you, and you do not need anyone to teach you; the anointing he gave teaches you everything; you are anointed with truth, not with a lie, and as it has taught you, so you must stay in him.
Live in Christ, then, my children, so that if he appears, we may have full confidence, and not turn from him in shame at his coming.

Gospel

John 1:19-28
‘One is coming after me who existed before me’

This is how John appeared as a witness. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ he not only declared, but he declared quite openly, ‘I am not the Christ.’ ‘Well then,’ they asked ‘are you Elijah?’ ‘I am not’ he said. ‘Are you the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ So they said to him, ‘Who are you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself?’ So John said, ‘I am, as Isaiah prophesied:

a voice that cries in the wilderness:
Make a straight way for the Lord.’

Now these men had been sent by the Pharisees, and they put this further question to him, ‘Why are you baptising if you are not the Christ, and not Elijah, and not the prophet?’ John replied, ‘I baptise with water; but there stands among you – unknown to you – the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo his sandal-strap.’ This happened at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan, where John was baptising.

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