"STAY WITH US, LORD" (Luke 24:29)

1st Reading            Isaiah 53: 10-11 Psalm                       33: 4-5. 18-19. 20 and 22 (R. cf. 22) R//: May your merciful love be upon us, as we hope in you, O Lord 2nd Reading         Hebrews 4: 14-16 Gospel                    Mark 10: 35-45 BE PART OF THE 'MANY' Beloved, we usher ourselves into the 29th Week in Ordinary Time (Year B) with reflection on the existential problems regarding human suffering. We shall attempt to unpack the Word of God for this Sunday and shall realise that God takes delight in redeeming us from life's troubles and changing scenes. Indeed, the humiliated will be elevated and vindicated, and the weak will be made strong and great. The first reading is from Isaiah 53: 10-11. This is a very brief but condensed passage. We are reading from the part of Isaiah called Second Isaiah (or Deutero-Isaiah) (Isa...

1st Reading           Wisdom 7:7-11 Psalm                      90: 12-13, 14-15, 16-17 (R. cf. 14) R//: "Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy" 2nd Reading        Hebrews 4: 12-13 Gospel                    Mark 10: 17-30  LASTING WEALTH COMES FROM THE WORD OF GOD Dear friends, today is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B). As a reminder, we are gradually getting closer to the end of the liturgical year. The Word of God for this Sunday deals with the question of authentic wealth. Let us take a quick dive. The first reading is from Wisdom 7:7-11. The central discussion in the Book is Wisdom. Let us remind ourselves that the Book of Wisdom has a very high Greek context and that is both an opportunity and a challenge to the practice of the Jewish faith, particularly for those Jews in the Greek territory. Additional...

1st Reading                Genesis 2: 18-24 Psalm                           Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6 (R. cf. 5)  R//: "May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives" 2nd Reading            Hebrews 2: 9-11 Gospel                         Mark 10: 2-16 SAME DIGNITY, FITTING HELPER, INDISSOLUBLE MARRIAGE Beloved, we usher ourselves into the new month of October, the month of the Holy Rosary. The month is all about the Blessed Virgin Mary, the woman whose "Yes" undid the "No" of Eve. She is the New Eve because Eve's disobedience, her "No" closed the doors of paradise, but Mary's "Yes" (Lk. 1: 38) opened the doors of Heaven, giving birth to Christ and giving hope to all creation. In this gracious month, we ask God, through Mary's help, to renew us by His Grace so that we may merit what prayer doe...

1st Reading                Numbers 11: 25-29 Psalm                           19: 7. 9. 11-12. 13 (R. 8ab) R//: "The precepts of the Lord are right; they gladden the heart 2nd Reading             James 5: 1-6 Gospel                        Mark 9: 38-43. 45. 47-48. SHARED LEADERSHIP IN AMPLIFYING GOD'S VOICE Beloved, today is the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) and the last Sunday of September. Indeed, Ebenezer, "thus far the Lord has helped us" (1 Sam. 7: 12). The Word of God for this Sunday shifts our focus to two significant aspects of leadership — decentralising power and sharing of burdens. Let us quickly dive into the readings. The first reading is from Numbers 11: 25-29. To understand the designated passage, we need only to take the whole of chapter 11 into consideration. The Israelit...

1st Reading                Wisdom 2: 12. 17-20 Psalm                           54: 3-4. 5. 6 & 8 (R. cf. 6b) R//: "Behold, the Lord is the upholder of my life" 2nd Reading              James 3: 16-4: 3 Gospel                        Mark 9: 30-37 SERVICE AND MEANS TO AUTHORITY REDEFINED Dear friends, today is the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B), and gradually, we shall soon be drawing the curtain down on the Liturgical Year. Our lives as Christians have been met with insults and humiliation, and we are torn between two extremes — neglecting our good ways for which we are despised or stay true to our Christian principles and values.  The first reading is from Wisdom 2: 12. 17-20. The Book of Wisdom is a Deuterocanonical book (or Apocrypha called by Protestants). It is found in ...

1st Reading                 Isaiah 50: 5-9a Psalm                            116: 1-2. 3-4. 5-6. 9 (R. 9) R//: "I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living" 2nd Reading               James 2: 14-18 Gospel                         Mark 8: 27-35. RESPONDING TO HUMILIATIONS Dear friends, Today is the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) and we stand at the feet of the Lord to be instructed in his ways so that we may be able to "walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living" (Ps. 116: 9). The Word of God this Sunday turns our focus to how we are to react to humiliations. We pray that we who "feel the working of [God's] mercy", may be granted, with the help of that same mercy, to look beyond humiliation and all sorts of debasements. The first reading is fr...

1st Reading             Isaiah 35: 4-7a Psalm                        146: 6c-7. 8-9bc -10ab (R. 1b) R:// "Come, Lord, and save us" 2nd Reading           James 2: 1-5 Gospel                      Mark 7: 31-37 THE LORD RESTORES US IN BOTH EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR FASHIONS Beloved, today is the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B). The Lord has been gracious in bringing us thus far to the 2nd Sunday in September 2024. We underscore that we are 11 weeks away from the end of the liturgical year. What it means is that we have come very far. We need to recognize that in this journey, we may have gone astray and would need the Lord's healing to bring us back to the fold. This Sunday, we shall focus on the Lord's healing and restoration as we reflect on the Word of God.  Let us have a brief background to the first r...