Tuesday of Week 30 in Ordinary Time Rm 8:18-25 Lk 13:18-21 “It is like a mustard seed.” In ancient Israel, the mustard tree is not a tree. It is more like a big shrub. It is smaller compared to the olive tree, which is a true tree. Yet in today’s gospel, Jesus chose the mustard seed... Continue Reading →
30 October, Monday — Do what is right not what is expected
Monday of Week 30 in Ordinary Time Rm 8:12-17Lk 13:10-17 “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham…” It was a sabbath day and Jesus was teaching in a synagogue. That means trouble! Surely Jesus would get into a conflict with the officials there. Like clockwork, there appeared a woman, crippled for 18 years. She was... Continue Reading →
29 October, Sunday — “So simple yet so difficult.”
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Exo 22:20-261 Ths 1:5-10Mt 22:34-40 “You must love your neighbour as yourself…” Well, the Lord does have a rather peculiar sense of humour. For my birthday this year, he has gifted me with this phrase, “You must love your neighbour as yourself”. This is very possibly, for me, one of... Continue Reading →
28 October, Saturday — Abandoning oneself to God
Oct 28 – Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles St. Simon was an apostle called the Cananean or Zealot because of his zeal for the Jewish law. He was not from Cana, nor a member of the Zealot party. Like all the Apostles, he was a convert, and was trained by St. Peter the... Continue Reading →
27 October, Friday — Judge for Yourself
Friday of Week 29 in Ordinary Time Rm 7:18-25Lk 12:54-59 “You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times? Why not judge for yourselves what is right?” Today’s readings really speak to me personally. Some excerpts from Romans 7:18-19,23:... Continue Reading →
26 October, Thursday — Division
Thursday of Week 29 in Ordinary Time Rm 6:19-23Lk 12:49-53 “I have come to bring fire to the earth…Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” Did I read it right? Jesus didn’t come to bring peace but division and fire? I must be... Continue Reading →
25 October, Wednesday — Freedom for…
Wednesday of Week 29 in Ordinary Time Rm 6:12-18Lk 12:39-48 You may have been freed from the slavery of sin, but only to become ‘slaves’ of righteousness. A few years back, I attended a Bible Study on the book of Exodus delivered by Msgr Ambrose Vaz. One of the key phrases that struck me was... Continue Reading →
24 October, Tuesday — Always Prepared
Oct 24 – Memorial for St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop St. Anthony Mary Claret (1807–1870) was a weaver and a seminary student with Blessed Francis Coll. He was ordained on 13 June 1835, and became a missionary in Catalonia and the Canary Islands. He directed retreats and founded the Congregation of Missionary Sons of the... Continue Reading →
23 October, Monday — Faith in God’s promise
Oct 23 – Memorial for St John of Capistrano, priest John of Capistrano was a Franciscan friar and Catholic priest from the Italian town of Capestrano, Abruzzo. Famous as a preacher, theologian, and inquisitor, he earned himself the nickname ‘the Soldier Saint’ when in 1456 at age 70, he led a Crusade against the invading Ottoman Empire at the siege of Belgrade with the Hungarian military commander, John Hunyadi. Elevated to... Continue Reading →
22 October, Sunday – Rendering to Caesar as a Form of Worship to God
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 45:1,4-61 Ths 1:1-5Mt 22:15-21 “...give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar -- and to God what belongs to God.” In today’s gospel, we read about the account of how the Pharisees went and plotted to entangle Jesus in his words. The entanglement being referred to in this instance... Continue Reading →
OXYGEN 