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

1st Reading             2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a Psalm                        89: 2-3, 16-17, 18-19 (R. cf. 2a) R:// "I will sing forever of your mercies, O Lord" 2nd Reading           Romans 6: 3-4, 8-11 Gospel                      Matthew 10: 37-42 HONOUR AND SAFEGUARD DIGNITY Friends, Peace and Goodness! Today is the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) and the last Sunday of June. We thank God for bringing us thus far. On this 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A), our first reading is from 2 Kings 4: 8-11, 14-16a. It is the story of the encounter between the Prophet Elisha and the Shunammite woman. Let us hold three details to heart from that narrative encounter. These details will be the identity of the woman, what she offered the prophet Elisha, and what the prophet Elisha gave to her as a reward. The first detail...

1st Reading               Jeremiah 20: 10-13 Psalm                          69: 7-9, 13 & 16, 32-34 (R. 13c) R:// "In your great mercy, answer me, O Lord" 2nd Reading             Romans 5: 12-15 Gospel                        Matthew 10: 26-33 DO NOT BE AFRAID Friends, Pax et Bonum! Today is the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). Globally and on a secular front, today is Fathers' Day. We take this opportunity to wish and pray for all Fathers. In this light, I suggest we digest today's readings with fathers in mind. The first reading is from Jeremiah 20: 10-13, the Second reading is from Romans 5: 12-15 and the Gospel is from Matthew 10: 26-33. Notice that the Second Reading and the Gospel are continuations from where they ended last Sunday. Let us quickly note a few points for understanding an...

1st Reading                 Exodus 19: 2-6a Psalm                            100:1-2, 3, 5 (R. 3c) R:// "We are his people, the sheep of his flock"  2nd Reading              Romans 5: 6-11 Gospel                         Matthew 9:36-10:8 ALWAYS DISPENSE GRACE Friends, Peace and Goodness! Today is the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). As usual, we have three sets of readings. We shall focus on all three readings with one detail each from the three readings. The first reading is from Exodus 19:2-6a, the second reading is from Romans 5:6-11 and the Gospel passage is from Matthew 9:36-10:8. Let us dive quickly into them. The first reading, from Exodus 19: 2-6a situates Israel within the desert. Israel just left Egypt two months earlier. After the Red Sea incident, they entered th...

1st Reading               Deuteronomy 8:2–3, 14b–16a Psalm                          147:12–15, 19–20 (R. v.12) R:// "Praise the Lord, Jerusalem" 2nd Reading             1 Corinthians 10:16–17 Gospel                         John 6:51–58 THE FOOD THAT BECOMES A HOME Friends, Pax et Bonum! Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi. Today is also the very first month of June. June, traditionally, is dedicated to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Let us focus on the readings. We might expect the readings on this day to be full of rubrics about bread and wine, explicit instructions about the Eucharist, and clear explanations of what is happening on the Altar. However, the readings give us a hunger test in the desert in the first reading, a one-sentence argu...

  1st Reading             Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9 Psalm                        Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 (R. 52b)   R:// "Glory and praise for ever!" 2nd Reading            2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Gospel                       John 3:16-18 TRUE GOD Friends, Pax et Bonum! Today is Holy Trinity Sunday. Today, we celebrate the Divine Community. However, when we open the Scriptures, the first reading, from Exodus 34: 4-6, 8-9, takes us back to Mount Sinai. There is a difficulty because the text of the first reading contains no formal language about the Three Persons in One God. It explicitly speaks about God's oneness. I want to suggest that there is a key to unlocking what is Trinitarian about today's first reading.  The text of the first reading looks relatively short but dense. Let us attempt to unpack...

1st Reading      Acts 2:1-11 Psalm               104:1ab and 24ac, 29bc-30, 31 & 34 (R. cf. 30) R:// "Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth" 2nd Reading     1 Corinthians 12: 3b-7, 12-13 Gospel               John 20:19-23 CARRY THE FIRE OF THE SPIRIT Dear friends, Peace and Goodness!  Today is 50 days after Easter. This day is called Pentecost, as it is derived from the Greek word "Pentecote", which means "fiftieth". Today also marks the official end of the Season of Easter. Let us look at the readings for today. We shall dwell on two details each from the first reading, Acts 2:1-11, and the Gospel from John 20:19-23.  The first reading from Acts 2:1-11 is the popular event of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of PENTECOST . The first detail follows from this and the opening of the reading, thus, "When the day of PENTECOST had come..." (Acts 11:1)...

1st Reading               1:12-14 Psalm                         27: 1, 4, 7-8a (R. 13 R:// "I believe I shall see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living" 2nd Reading           1 Peter 4: 13-16 Gospel                       John 17:1-11a THE HOUR HAS COME Friends, Peace and Goodness! Today is the 7th Sunday of Easter (Year A), the final Sunday before Pentecost, and we find ourselves in that peculiar in-between space of the liturgical calendar. Jesus has departed. The Spirit has not yet come. The community is left waiting. The Ascension is only days behind us and Pentecost is days ahead. This Sunday makes us stand suspended between departure and arrival. Finding ourselves within this space of seeming neglect because of the Ascension and hopeful anticipation of the Pente...