Posts Tagged ‘God’s love’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 4, 2022 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Today we are reminded to love as God loves. And how does He love? He so loved us that He laid down His life for us so that we may live free from our sins and in His love. It is not a love of words or an emotion but a life giving love put into action which wills the good in another.

At each and every Eucharistic Celebration, we partake of the Holy Eucharist; the One for all Sacrifice of the Mass and are reminded of God’s great love for us. For He gave of Himself so that we might receive life in us. Having received Jesus, the living, life giving Word made flesh we too can go forth to love others as He first loved us. 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: August 30, 2021 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Jesus Unrolls the Book in the Synagogue James Tissot 1894

Many are fearful of death, they do not know what to expect and it is scary for them. What do they do with such thoughts and ideas about death which offers no solutions or comfort? Well dismiss them and never think about them again! Till of course they have no choice like when facing death due to grave illness.

Many still have not heard the wonderful good news that:-

Christ has died

Christ is Risen

Christ will come again!

And so we must be prepared to share this joy of what it means for us and for them who will come to believe. Why we live in the hope that we too will rise again in Christ. For the Lord our God has kept His promises throughout salvation history. We know with deep conviction that God so loved the world that He gave us His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will have eternal life.

The Lord our God has no favourites, His message of love and His salvation is for all who will listen and come to believe in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth and the life! And so even Christians who do not embrace His truth fully and choose to cherry pick what they want to believe will have no benefit over the unbeliever. Likewise those who reject the prophets of today sent to them to hear our Lord’s call for repentance.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

First reading

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Do not grieve about those who have died in Jesus

We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him. We can tell you this from the Lord’s own teaching, that any of us who are left alive until the Lord’s coming will not have any advantage over those who have died. At the trumpet of God, the voice of the archangel will call out the command and the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and then those of us who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds, together with them; to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall stay with the Lord for ever. With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.

Gospel

Luke 4:16-30

‘This text is being fulfilled today, even as you listen’

Jesus 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. They said, ‘This is Joseph’s son, surely?’

    But he replied, ‘No doubt you will quote me the saying, “Physician, heal yourself” and tell me, “We have heard all that happened in Capernaum, do the same here in your own countryside.”’

    And he went on, ‘I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.

    ‘There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah’s day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town. And in the prophet Elisha’s time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.’

    When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: July 17, 2021 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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What struck me to the heart in today’s first reading was not how many people had to pack up their lives to flee from slavery or the little time they had for food preparation and so on. But that the Lord kept vigil to bring them out.  How many can relate keeping vigil for a beloved one who is very sick. Or perhaps keeping vigil through the night so that loved ones can rest peacefully in strange surroundings and perhaps extreme weather conditions. The time slowly passes by as we watch attentively in prayer and often in great anxiety. The love of the Lord our God for all of us is immeasurable! He is with us in and all through our darkest moments.

He will not break the crushed reed, nor put out the smouldering wick. His mercy and love for us endures forever. All nations can put their hope and trust in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for He is our Shepherd we shall not want! Amen

O Blessed Mother pray for us…..

 

First reading

Exodus 12:37-42 ·

The sons of Israel leave Egypt hurriedly by night

The sons of Israel left Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand on the march – all men – not counting their families. People of various sorts joined them in great numbers; there were flocks, too, and herds in immense droves. They baked cakes with the dough which they had brought from Egypt, unleavened because the dough was not leavened; they had been driven out of Egypt, with no time for dallying, and had not provided themselves with food for the journey. The time that the sons of Israel had spent in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And on the very day the four hundred and thirty years ended, all the array of the Lord left the land of Egypt. The night, when the Lord kept vigil to bring them out of the land of Egypt, must be kept as a vigil in honour of the Lord for all their generations.

Gospel

Matthew 12:14-21

He cured them all but warned them not to make him known

The Pharisees went out and began to plot against Jesus, discussing how to destroy him.

    Jesus knew this and withdrew from the district. Many followed him and he cured them all, but warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah:

Here is my servant whom I have chosen,

my beloved, the favourite of my soul.

I will endow him with my spirit,

and he will proclaim the true faith to the nations.

He will not brawl or shout,

nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

He will not break the crushed reed,

nor put out the smouldering wick

till he has led the truth to victory:

in his name the nations will put their hope.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 5, 2021 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Jealousy, plotting the downfall of someone doing well or is well liked; and thinking how we must let the world know how he or she ‘really’ is, where does all this come from? What is missing from our very own lives that we fill them with such thoughts and plans?

The love of God and His presence in our lives is what is missing! For why would we be jealous of our sisters and brothers when He gives us specially made custom fit ‘coats with long sleeves’ for each of His children? Where will we have time for plotting anything, when we must be busy working joyfully in His vineyard; and eagerly waiting for the fruits to bear for the Glory of God our Heavenly Father.

Let these two verses of this beautiful hymn be our prayer this day…..

Search me, O God, and know my heart today,

Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray;

See if there be some wicked way in me;

Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free.

I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;

Fulfill Thy word and make me pure within;

Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame;

Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.

Amen

First reading

Genesis 37:3-4,12-13,17-28 ·

Let us kill him: then we shall see what becomes of his dreams

Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, for he was the son of his old age, and he had a coat with long sleeves made for him. But his brothers, seeing how his father loved him more than all his other sons, came to hate him so much that they could not say a civil word to him.

    His brothers went to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem. Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers with the flock at Shechem? Come, I am going to send you to them.’ So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

    They saw him in the distance, and before he reached them they made a plot among themselves to put him to death. ‘Here comes the man of dreams’ they said to one another. ‘Come on, let us kill him and throw him into some well; we can say that a wild beast devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams.’

    But Reuben heard, and he saved him from their violence. ‘We must not take his life’ he said. ‘Shed no blood,’ said Reuben to them ‘throw him into this well in the wilderness, but do not lay violent hands on him’ – intending to save him from them and to restore him to his father. So, when Joseph reached his brothers, they pulled off his coat, the coat with long sleeves that he was wearing, and catching hold of him they threw him into the well, an empty well with no water in it. They then sat down to eat.

    Looking up they saw a group of Ishmaelites who were coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, tragacanth, balsam and resin, which they were taking down into Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let us not do any harm to him. After all, he is our brother, and our own flesh.’ His brothers agreed.

    Now some Midianite merchants were passing, and they drew Joseph up out of the well. They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver pieces, and these men took Joseph to Egypt.

Gospel

Matthew 21:33-43,45-46

This is the landlord’s heir: come, let us kill him

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

It was the stone rejected by the builders

that became the keystone.

This was the Lord’s doing

and it is wonderful to see?

‘I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.’

    When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realised he was speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: February 8, 2021 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections, Prayers
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From nothingness and chaos God created and ordered everything in His love. He breathed life when there was none and saw good in the works of His hand. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Was it not just yesterday we heard the psalmist sing of the Lord’s goodness for He heals the broken hearted and binds up all their wounds. He fixes the number of the stars and calls each one by its name. And once again today in today’s Gospel we see His love for us in action such that by simply touching the fringe of His cloak many were healed. Will the love of our Lord for us diminish tomorrow?

We know deep down in our hearts that the love of the Lord our God is forever constant and His mercy endures forever! Let us boldly bear witness to His enduring love and mercy such that many like the stars in Heaven can shine brightly in His love. Amen

First reading

Genesis 1:1-19 ·

God saw that it was good

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, and God’s spirit hovered over the water.

    God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness. God called light ‘day’, and darkness he called ‘night.’ Evening came and morning came: the first day.

    God said, ‘Let there be a vault in the waters to divide the waters in two.’ And so it was. God made the vault, and it divided the waters above the vault from the waters under the vault. God called the vault ‘heaven.’ Evening came and morning came: the second day.

    God said, ‘Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear.’ And so it was. God called the dry land ‘earth’ and the mass of waters ‘seas’, and God saw that it was good.

    God said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees bearing fruit with their seed inside, on the earth.’ And so it was. The earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seed in their several kinds, and trees bearing fruit with their seed inside in their several kinds. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the third day.

    God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.’ And so it was. God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars. God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth, to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the fourth day.

Gospel

Mark 6:53-56

All those who touched him were cured

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

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: January 13, 2021 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We should contemplate more deeply on just how much and how deeply God our Father loves us. Such that He always desires a deeper relationship with us. He knows how we cannot fathom His infinite wisdom, power, mercy and love. And so He allowed authors of His Word portray His feelings and emotions even though His mercy and love is constant, enduring forever. He shared in all our emotional states, even our physicality, our strengths as well as our weakness through our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Who came to heal, forgive and free us from the bondages of evil and sin. But most of all to share God our Father’s love with one and all. By turning away from and repenting of our sins, we have hope of eternal life in God our Father’s Kingdom, He desires to embrace each and everyone of His Children.

Thank You ABBA Father for loving me. Through the example of Your Son, my Lord Jesus Christ; I endeavour to seek a quiet place to enter daily into Your presence through prayer. Let Your Will be done in my life. Amen

First reading
Hebrews 2:14-18 ·
He took to himself descent from Abraham

Since all the children share the same blood and flesh, Christ too shared equally in it, so that by his death he could take away all the power of the devil, who had power over death, and set free all those who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it was not the angels that he took to himself; he took to himself descent from Abraham. It was essential that he should in this way become completely like his brothers so that he could be a compassionate and trustworthy high priest of God’s religion, able to atone for human sins. That is, because he has himself been through temptation he is able to help others who are tempted.


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 devil’s.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: December 31, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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How fitting that the year 2020 ends with Today’s readings. As we look back we will always remember the challenges and hardships we faced. Many dreams and hopes were extinguished due to the pandemic. Many lost their lives while others their livelihood. Shall we not think about the many spiritual deaths that occurred as well? How many who were anointed at their baptism have lost their faith? Stripped of the Sacraments they plunged into darkness and despair unable to steer their way in new unchartered waters. Many who called themselves disciples of Christ had abandoned Him!

Yet Jesus has never abandoned us! Through the Gospel of today, we hear the powerful testimony of God’s love for His creation and purpose. God our Heavenly Father has given us an eternal light through the Incarnation of His Son our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. That whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. And so with eyes of faith we have seen His light in new ways as new doors were opened by Him throughout the year in passing.

And so sisters and brothers as we move into 2021, let us stay alert, awake and ready to meet Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us remain steadfast in His truth and in His love. Let us bring the hope and joy that we have to all that we meet in the year ahead; to bear witness to the Light, His life, death and Resurrection. Amen

Merry Christmas and Blessed New year ahead! xxxoooxxx

First reading
1 John 2:18-21 ·
You have been anointed by the Holy One


Children, these are the last days;
you were told that an Antichrist must come,
and now several antichrists have already appeared; we know from this that these are the last days.
Those rivals of Christ came out of our own number, but they had never really belonged; if they had belonged, they would have stayed with us; but they left us, to prove that not one of them ever belonged to us.
But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and have all received the knowledge.
It is not because you do not know the truth that I am writing to you but rather because you know it already and know that no lie can come from the truth.


Gospel
John 1:1-18
The Word was made flesh, and lived among us


In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in him and that life was the light of men, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower.

A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness, as a witness to speak for the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He was not the light, only a witness to speak for the light.

The Word was the true light that enlightens all men; and he was coming into the world.
He was in the world that had its being through him, and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to all who believe in the name of him who was born not out of human stock or urge of the flesh or will of man but of God himself.

The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John appears as his witness. He proclaims:
‘This is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me ranks before me because he existed before me.’

Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received – yes, grace in return for grace,
since, though the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: October 27, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Never mind that the word ‘Love’ in the English language falls very short in conveying what it means even in the context that it is used. It can be filled with emotion or totally devoid of it! How then can we possibly speak to the magnitude, depth, breadth and height of God’s love. Love which is self giving, nurturing and Wills the good of others. It grows beyond itself and increases in depth the more it is given away. If we have an inkling of understanding of His love for us and what is means to live as One in His love; then we might begin to see that the Kingdom of God is built upon the foundation of love and in the realm of His love.

And If we cherish and embrace the fact that the Word of God is life giving. How then can the words that come out from our own mouths be any less life giving? Are we not living as His Children created in His likeness and image? Just as Christ in His great love, laid down His life for His bride, let us love one another as He loved us. It is our call as husbands and wives to lead one another to greater Holiness as we journey together onwards into Heaven. Amen

First reading
Ephesians 5:21-33 ·
Give way to one another in obedience to Christ

Give way to one another in obedience to Christ. Wives should regard their husbands as they regard the Lord, since as Christ is head of the Church and saves the whole body, so is a husband the head of his wife; and as the Church submits to Christ, so should wives to their husbands, in everything. Husbands should love their wives just as Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy. He made her clean by washing her in water with a form of words, so that when he took her to himself she would be glorious, with no speck or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and faultless. In the same way, husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies; for a man to love his wife is for him to love himself. A man never hates his own body, but he feeds it and looks after it; and that is the way Christ treats the Church, because it is his body – and we are its living parts. For this reason, a man must leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one body. This mystery has many implications; but I am saying it applies to Christ and the Church. To sum up; you too, each one of you, must love his wife as he loves himself; and let every wife respect her husband.


Gospel
Luke 13:18-21
The kingdom of God is like the yeast that leavened three measures of flour

Jesus said, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it with? It is like a mustard seed which a man took and threw into his garden: it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air sheltered in its branches.’
    Another thing he said, ‘What shall I compare the kingdom of God with? It is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: October 16, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Shall we continue with the illusion of thinking we are only accountable to the laws of the land? That we will be judged accordingly only to what can be proven by way of physical evidence? Have we put aside God’s law and commandments? Have we somehow forgotten that the Lord our God sees and knows everything? Perhaps we have taken His love, mercy and patience for granted! “Out of sight, out of mind?!” “There is always tomorrow?!”

Come now brethren let us be mindful that our Heavenly inheritance is not our birthright or entitlement but a gift of love by way of our response to our Lord’s invitation to remain forever in perfect union with Him. Such is His love for us that we can already experience a foretaste of it in the present, in living and loving in His presence. Glory to God in the highest!

O Holy Spirit guide me in my every thought, word and action. Amen

First reading
Ephesians 1:11-14 ·
You have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit


It is in Christ that we were claimed as God’s own, chosen from the beginning, under the predetermined plan of the one who guides all things as he decides by his own will;
chosen to be, for his greater glory, the people who would put their hopes in Christ before he came.
Now you too, in him, have heard the message of the truth and the good news of your salvation, and have believed it; and you too have been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise, the pledge of our inheritance which brings freedom for those whom God has taken for his own, to make his glory praised.


Gospel
Luke 12:1-7
Not one sparrow is forgotten in God’s sight

The people had gathered in their thousands so that they were treading on one another. And Jesus began to speak, first of all to his disciples. ‘Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees – that is, their hypocrisy. Everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. For this reason, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places will be proclaimed on the housetops.
    ‘To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. I will tell you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Can you not buy five sparrows for two pennies? And yet not one is forgotten in God’s sight. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. There is no need to be afraid: you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: May 26, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Have you prepared your farewell speech before passing on? Would you even have to? Or would the way you lived your life speak volumes for you? Have you glorified the Lord Your God by your life? Have you suffered for Christ’s namesake? Or has it only been about you and your own sufferings? How many souls have You saved? How many strays have you brought back home to God Your Heavenly Father? How many have experienced your acts of love and mercy?

Jesus loves and prays for you. He wants you to be the best version of yourself for you and for others. Listen to Him speaking to you in today’s Gospel. Replace the word ‘them’ with your own name and see just how much the Lord our God loves you! Amen

St Philip Neri pray for us….

First reading

Acts 20:17-27 ·
I have without faltering put before you the whole of God’s purpose

From Miletus Paul sent for the elders of the church of Ephesus. When they arrived he addressed these words to them:
‘You know what my way of life has been ever since the first day I set foot among you in Asia, how I have served the Lord in all humility, with all the sorrows and trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. I have not hesitated to do anything that would be helpful to you; I have preached to you, and instructed you both in public and in your homes, urging both Jews and Greeks to turn to God and to believe in our Lord Jesus.
‘And now you see me a prisoner already in spirit; I am on my way to Jerusalem, but have no idea what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit, in town after town, has made it clear enough that imprisonment and persecution await me. But life to me is not a thing to waste words on, provided that when I finish my race I have carried out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me – and that was to bear witness to the Good News of God’s grace.
‘I now feel sure that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will ever see my face again. And so here and now I swear that my conscience is clear as far as all of you are concerned, for I have without faltering put before you the whole of God’s purpose.’

Gospel

John 17:1-11
Father, it is time for you to glorify me

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:

‘Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son
so that your Son may glorify you; and, through the power over all mankind that you have given him, let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him.
And eternal life is this: to know you,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
I have glorified you on earth and finished the work that you gave me to do.
Now, Father, it is time for you to glorify me
with that glory I had with you before ever the world was.
I have made your name known to the men you took from the world to give me.
They were yours and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now at last they know that all you have given me comes indeed from you; for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have truly accepted this, that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me.
I pray for them; I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me,
because they belong to you: all I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified.
I am not in the world any longer, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: May 5, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Why must we share the good news of the Risen Lord with others? Well simply apart from it being commanded by Jesus our Lord to go make disciples of all nations; if our Lord Jesus has touched Your heart as He has mine and filled it with His love, peace and joy. Then it is not only our duty but because His love had transformed us in such a wonderful way that we want to share it with the rest of the world. This conviction is what filled the hearts of the early disciples that they preached the good news boldly. And they did not do so alone for it is written that the Lord helped them, and a great number believed and were converted to the Lord.How truly wonderful is the news of God’s love for us. That through our faith and believe in our Lord Jesus Christ we have hope of eternal life with Him and God our Father; who wills that not a single one of us is lost. Tender, loving and merciful is God our Father towards us all His children. Amen

First reading

Acts 11:19-26 ·
They started preaching to the Greeks, proclaiming the Lord JesusThose who had escaped during the persecution that happened because of Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, but they usually proclaimed the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, who came from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch where they started preaching to the Greeks, proclaiming the Good News of the Lord Jesus to them as well. The Lord helped them, and a great number believed and were converted to the Lord.
The church in Jerusalem heard about this and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. There he could see for himself that God had given grace, and this pleased him, and he urged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with heartfelt devotion; for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number of people were won over to the Lord.
Barnabas then left for Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. As things turned out they were to live together in that church a whole year, instructing a large number of people. It was at Antioch that the disciples were first called ‘Christians.’

Gospel

John 10:22-30
The Father and I are oneIt was the time when the feast of Dedication was being celebrated in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the Temple walking up and down in the Portico of Solomon. The Jews gathered round him and said, ‘How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus replied:‘I have told you, but you do not believe.
The works I do in my Father’s name are my witness; but you do not believe, because you are no sheep of mine.
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me.
I give them eternal life; they will never be lost and no one will ever steal them from me.
The Father who gave them to me is greater than anyone, and no one can steal from the Father. The Father and I are one.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: April 22, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Does it not feel these days that we are prisoners in our own homes? Yet we can rest in the assurance that this too shall pass. Instead of moaning and groaning, if we listen attentively to the of Lord; He has already freed our minds to find new and innovative ways to share the Gospel truth of His love with others still trapped without hope in their lives.To lead them to the awareness that the Risen Lord had died for love of all of us, to free us from all sin so that we might rise to new life with Him. Through Jesus we are saved and through Him we have peace, joy and love in our hearts. This simple truth cannot be difficult for you or me to share? In fact very few Christians, if they are true Christians to begin with, cannot quote John 3:16 or even know it by hard. It is time however to come out of the prison of our comfort zones and to expound on this Scripture text so that all who hear us share, can come to a better understanding of God’s love for them and lead them to fall in love with Jesus as we have.Praise be to our Risen Lord Jesus Christ alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Amen

First reading

Acts 5:17-26 ·
The men you imprisoned are in the Temple, preaching to the peopleThe high priest intervened with all his supporters from the party of the Sadducees. Prompted by jealousy, they arrested the apostles and had them put in the common gaol.
But at night the angel of the Lord opened the prison gates and said as he led them out, ‘Go and stand in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new Life.’ They did as they were told; they went into the Temple at dawn and began to preach.
When the high priest arrived, he and his supporters convened the Sanhedrin – this was the full Senate of Israel – and sent to the gaol for them to be brought. But when the officials arrived at the prison they found they were not inside, so they went back and reported, ‘We found the gaol securely locked and the warders on duty at the gates, but when we unlocked the door we found no one inside.’ When the captain of the Temple and the chief priests heard this news they wondered what this could mean. Then a man arrived with fresh news. ‘At this very moment’ he said, ‘the men you imprisoned are in the Temple. They are standing there preaching to the people.’ The captain went with his men and fetched them. They were afraid to use force in case the people stoned them.

Gospel

John 3:16-21
God sent his Son into the world so that through him the world might be savedJesus said to Nicodemus:‘God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.
For God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that through him the world might be saved.
No one who believes in him will be condemned; but whoever refuses to believe is condemned already, because he has refused to believe in the name of God’s only Son.
On these grounds is sentence pronounced:
that though the light has come into the world men have shown they prefer darkness to the light because their deeds were evil.
And indeed, everybody who does wrong
hates the light and avoids it, for fear his actions should be exposed; but the man who lives by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God.’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: April 3, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Even today we are often taunted for our faith. Where is your God in the crisis the world is facing? Isn’t He killing off His very own people or as you all put it His own children? Are you any safer than the non believers?

Do not despair in the face of such disparaging remarks. Reflect instead on the fundamentals which is built upon the foundation of our rock, our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.

*God is good not some of the time but all of the time and in all of time.

*Hence evil and all its works does not come from Him. He may permit it for reasons beyond our knowledge or understanding.

*In God our Father’s great love for us, He gave up His only Begotten Son Jesus for our salvation.

*Through Him whether we live or die today we will have eternal life with God our Heavenly.

Therefore what greater gift can we ever hope for, need or want? For we have Jesus! Praise and glory be to God our Father, His Son our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Holy Spirit. Amen

First reading

Jeremiah 20:10-13 ·
He has delivered the soul of the needy from the hands of evil men

Jeremiah said:

I hear so many disparaging me, ‘“Terror from every side!”
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’
All those who used to be my friends watched for my downfall, ‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error.
Then we will master him and take our revenge!’
But the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero; my opponents will stumble, mastered, confounded by their failure; everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be theirs.
But you, O Lord of Hosts, you who probe with justice, who scrutinise the loins and heart, let me see the vengeance you will take on them, for I have committed my cause to you.
Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has delivered the soul of the needy from the hands of evil men.

Gospel

John 10:31-42
They wanted to stone Jesus, but he eluded them

The Jews fetched stones to stone him, so Jesus said to them, ‘I have done many good works for you to see, works from my Father; for which of these are you stoning me?’ The Jews answered him, ‘We are not stoning you for doing a good work but for blasphemy: you are only a man and you claim to be God.’ Jesus answered:

‘Is it not written in your Law:
I said, you are gods?
So the Law uses the word gods
of those to whom the word of God was addressed, and scripture cannot be rejected.
Yet you say to someone the Father has consecrated and sent into the world, “You are blaspheming,” because he says, “I am the son of God.” If I am not doing my Father’s work, there is no need to believe me; but if I am doing it, then even if you refuse to believe in me, at least believe in the work I do; then you will know for sure that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.’

They wanted to arrest him then, but he eluded them.
He went back again to the far side of the Jordan to stay in the district where John had once been baptising. Many people who came to him there said, ‘John gave no signs, but all he said about this man was true’; and many of them believed in him.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: April 3, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Even today we are often taunted for our faith. Where is your God in the crisis the world is facing? Isn’t He killing off His very own people or as you all put it His own children? Are you any safer than the non believers?

Do not despair in the face of such disparaging remarks. Reflect instead on the fundamentals which is built upon the foundation of our rock, our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ.

*God is good not some of the time but all of the time and in all of time.

*Hence evil and all its works does not come from Him. He may permit it for reasons beyond our knowledge or understanding.

*In God our Father’s great love for us, He gave up His only Begotten Son Jesus for our salvation.

*Through Him whether we live or die today we will have eternal life with God our Heavenly.

Therefore what greater gift can we ever hope for, need or want? For we have Jesus! Praise and glory be to God our Father, His Son our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Holy Spirit. Amen

First reading

Jeremiah 20:10-13 ·
He has delivered the soul of the needy from the hands of evil men

Jeremiah said:

I hear so many disparaging me, ‘“Terror from every side!”
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’
All those who used to be my friends watched for my downfall, ‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error.
Then we will master him and take our revenge!’
But the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero; my opponents will stumble, mastered, confounded by their failure; everlasting, unforgettable disgrace will be theirs.
But you, O Lord of Hosts, you who probe with justice, who scrutinise the loins and heart, let me see the vengeance you will take on them, for I have committed my cause to you.
Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for he has delivered the soul of the needy from the hands of evil men.

Gospel

John 10:31-42
They wanted to stone Jesus, but he eluded them

The Jews fetched stones to stone him, so Jesus said to them, ‘I have done many good works for you to see, works from my Father; for which of these are you stoning me?’ The Jews answered him, ‘We are not stoning you for doing a good work but for blasphemy: you are only a man and you claim to be God.’ Jesus answered:

‘Is it not written in your Law:
I said, you are gods?
So the Law uses the word gods
of those to whom the word of God was addressed, and scripture cannot be rejected.
Yet you say to someone the Father has consecrated and sent into the world, “You are blaspheming,” because he says, “I am the son of God.” If I am not doing my Father’s work, there is no need to believe me; but if I am doing it, then even if you refuse to believe in me, at least believe in the work I do; then you will know for sure that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.’

They wanted to arrest him then, but he eluded them.
He went back again to the far side of the Jordan to stay in the district where John had once been baptising. Many people who came to him there said, ‘John gave no signs, but all he said about this man was true’; and many of them believed in him.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: March 31, 2020 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Look upon our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ and be saved.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Look upon our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ and be saved.

Have we allowed the virus to infect our souls such that we have given up on prayer? On seeking the Lord in the quiet and being in His presence? While we must do everything in our power to keep ourselves and everyone safe, we must all…

Look upon our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ and be saved.

We are truly loved by the God our Heavenly Father and He will never abandon us. The greatest gift and sign of His love for us is His only Begotten Son who redeemed us by His death, so that we can rise to be life with our Him and our Heavenly Father. So let us is lovingly…

Look upon our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ and be saved. Amen

Let us pray…

Jesus, Son of the living God have mercy on us and on the whole world. Amen

First reading

Numbers 21:4-9 ·
If anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked up at the bronze serpent and lived

The Israelites left Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Suph, to skirt the land of Edom. On the way the people lost patience. They spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread nor water here; we are sick of this unsatisfying food.’
At this God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel. The people came and said to Moses, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede for us with the Lord to save us from these serpents.’ Moses interceded for the people, and the Lord answered him, ‘Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live.’ So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze serpent and lived.

Gospel

John 8:21-30
When you have lifted up the Son of Man then you will know that I am He

Jesus said to the Pharisees:

‘I am going away; you will look for me
and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.’

The Jews said to one another, ‘Will he kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, “Where I am going, you cannot come”?’ Jesus went on:

‘You are from below; I am from above.
You are of this world; I am not of this world.
I have told you already: You will die in your sins. Yes, if you do not believe that I am He,
you will die in your sins.’

So they said to him, ‘Who are you?’ Jesus answered:

‘What I have told you from the outset.
About you I have much to say and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is truthful, and what I have learnt from him
I declare to the world.’

They failed to understand that he was talking to them about the Father. So Jesus said:

‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man,
then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing of myself: what the Father has taught me is what I preach; he who sent me is with me, and has not left me to myself, for I always do what pleases him.’

As he was saying this, many came to believe in him.

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

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

First reading

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

The Lord says this:

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

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

Gospel

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

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

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

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

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

First reading

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

The Lord says this:

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

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

Gospel

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

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

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

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

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

First reading

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

The Lord says this:

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

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

Gospel

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

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

On Today’s Gospel

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

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

My Lord You came for me!

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

My Lord You came for me!

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

My Lord You came for me! Amen

First reading

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

The Lord says this:

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

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

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

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

Gospel

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

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

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: 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 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: October 31, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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How deeply connected are you to our one triune God? More often than not we are either disconnected or the connection is rather weak throughout the week and so we seek to renew it every Sunday at best! Why is this so? Let me propose that the problem lies in that we have not dwelled deeply enough on just how much we are truly loved by our all loving and merciful God. We spend all our time in matters and affairs of the world we live in. What ever time we have left is for leisure and what we deem as relaxation. We do not set aside time to bask in His love for us, through prayer, scripture, daily Eucharist or even just sitting at His feet in Adoration.

God our Father loved us so much He sacrificed His only Son our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to save us from our impending and permanent death for our sins. Our Lord stood His ground and faced the harsh penalties of choosing to die for our sake. He was without sin yet He bore the burden and weight of the sins of the world upon Himself, His beaten frail body hung on the cross for us as He breathed His last. Back into His Father’s hands he commended His Spirit. On the third day He rose from dead and the gates to Heaven was opened for us! We have hope for eternal life with Him. Death was conquered! God with us who indeed can be against us?

Still we are given a choice. We can stubbornly refuse God’s love for us and go our own way. Or we can choose to run into His loving embrace and live fully in His love….

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

First reading

Romans 8:31-39 ·

God did not spare his own Son

With God on our side who can be against us? Since God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to benefit us all, we may be certain, after such a gift, that he will not refuse anything he can give. Could anyone accuse those that God has chosen? When God acquits, could anyone condemn? Could Christ Jesus? No! He not only died for us – he rose from the dead, and there at God’s right hand he stands and pleads for us.

Nothing therefore can come between us and the love of Christ, even if we are troubled or worried, or being persecuted, or lacking food or clothes, or being threatened or even attacked. As scripture promised: For your sake we are being massacred daily, and reckoned as sheep for the slaughter. These are the trials through which we triumph, by the power of him who loved us.

For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come, not any power, or height or depth, nor any created thing, can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gospel

Luke 13:31-35

It would not be right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem

Some Pharisees came up to Jesus. ‘Go away’ they said. ‘Leave this place, because Herod means to kill you.’ He replied, ‘You may go and give that fox this message: Learn that today and tomorrow I cast out devils and on the third day attain my end. But for today and tomorrow and the next day I must go on, since it would not be right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem.

‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused! So be it! Your house will be left to you. Yes, I promise you, you shall not see me till the time comes when you say:

‘Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!’

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: August 5, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Such is the unique love of the Lord our God that we experience both His paternal as well as His maternal love for us. ”Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” Isaiah 49:15

He tends tenderly to His children, instructing and guiding them. When they are hungry and thirsting after Him, He feeds and nourishes them, sending them off thereafter to share in His love. This is what happens at every Eucharistic Celebration! This is the great, immense abounding love of the Lord our God outpoured us.

Let us stop dwelling in sin, stop our complaints of our discomforts or how challenging our lives are. But turn instead to Jesus, with grateful hearts. For through Him alone have we been set free, restored and nourished to live freely in His love and for love of one another. Let us then pave the way for others who do not yet know of His love. Amen

First reading

Numbers 11:4-15
The sons of Israel complain in the desert

The sons of Israel began to wail, ‘Who will give us meat to eat?’ they said. ‘Think of the fish we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic! Here we are wasting away, stripped of everything; there is nothing but manna for us to look at!’

The manna was like coriander seed, and had the appearance of bdellium. The people went round gathering it, and ground it in a mill or crushed it with a pestle; it was then cooked in a pot and made into pancakes. It tasted like cake made with oil. When the dew fell on the camp at night-time, the manna fell with it.

Moses heard the people wailing, every family at the door of its tent. The anger of the Lord flared out, and Moses greatly worried over this. And he spoke to the Lord:

‘Why do you treat your servant so badly? Why have I not found favour with you, so that you load on me the weight of all this nation? Was it I who conceived all this people, was it I who gave them birth, that you should say to me, “Carry them in your bosom, like a nurse with a baby at the breast, to the land that I swore to give their fathers”? Where am I to find meat to give to all this people, when they come worrying me so tearfully and say, “Give us meat to eat”? I am not able to carry this nation by myself alone; the weight is too much for me. If this is how you want to deal with me, I would rather you killed me! If only I had found favour in your eyes, and not lived to see such misery as this!’

Gospel

Matthew 14:13-21
The feeding of the five thousand

When Jesus received the news of John the Baptist’s death he withdrew by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But the people heard of this and, leaving the towns, went after him on foot. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them and healed their sick.

When evening came, the disciples went to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place, and the time has slipped by; so send the people away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food.’ Jesus replied, ‘There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat yourselves.’ But they answered ‘All we have with us is five loaves and two fish.’ ‘Bring them here to me’ he said. He gave orders that the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves handed them to his disciples who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected the scraps remaining; twelve baskets full. Those who ate numbered about five thousand men, to say nothing of women and children.

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: July 13, 2019 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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God our Father has a plan for each and everyone of us. Though we may not understand what it is or see the good in the hardships and sufferings we may face. We can trust in His abounding love for us that He will never abandon us in our of need. He loves dearly and wants only the best for us and He wills that we be with Him in Heaven.

Jesus is the love of God our Father personified. He came down from Heaven to free us from our sins. So that by His death and Resurrection with might have eternal life with Him. If we say we love Him that our love for Him must convict us to share in that very love we have received. To stand up for our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ and to proclaim His message of love, mercy and repentance. So that all who come to know Him will have a share of eternal life with Him. Amen

First reading

Genesis 49:29-33,50:15-26
‘God has turned the evil you planned into good’

Jacob gave his sons these instructions, ‘I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me near my fathers, in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave in the field at Machpelah, opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial-plot. There Abraham was buried and his wife Sarah. There Isaac was buried and his wife Rebekah. There I buried Leah. I mean the field and the cave in it that were bought from the sons of Heth.’
When Jacob had finished giving his instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, and breathing his last was gathered to his people.
Seeing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, ‘What if Joseph intends to treat us as enemies and repay us in full for all the wrong we did him?’ So they sent this message to Joseph: ‘Before your father died he gave us this order: “You must say to Joseph: Oh forgive your brothers their crime and their sin and all the wrong they did you.” Now therefore, we beg you, forgive the crime of the servants of your father’s God.’ Joseph wept at the message they sent to him.
His brothers came themselves and fell down before him. ‘We present ourselves before you’ they said ‘as your slaves.’ But Joseph answered them, ‘Do not be afraid; is it for me to put myself in God’s place? The evil you planned to do me has by God’s design been turned to good, that he might bring about, as indeed he has, the deliverance of a numerous people. So you need not be afraid; I myself will provide for you and your dependants.’ In this way he reassured them with words that touched their hearts.
So Joseph stayed in Egypt with his father’s family; and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children, as also the children of Machir, Manasseh’s son, who were born on Joseph’s lap. At length Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die; but God will be sure to remember you kindly and take you back from this country to the land that he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ And Joseph made Israel’s sons swear an oath, ‘When God remembers you with kindness be sure to take my bones from here.’
Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten; they embalmed him and laid him in his coffin in Egypt.

Gospel

Matthew 10:24-33
Everything now hidden will be made clear

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘The disciple is not superior to his teacher, nor the slave to his master. It is enough for the disciple that he should grow to be like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, what will they not say of his household?
‘Do not be afraid of them therefore. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.
‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.
‘So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.’