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Volume 19

Published by:

The Life in the Spirit Communities of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Colombo, Sri Lanka,

(With Ecclesiastical Approval).

Daily Reflections now available on the internetVisit crlmain.org or crlmain.com

Read the daily reflection from anywhere in the world

Issue 10

Great and glorious God, and Thou Lord Jesus,

I pray you shed abroad your light in the darkness of my mind. Be found of me, Lord, so that in all things I may

act only in accordance with Thy holy will.

St. Francis of Assisi

October 2019

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On Our Knees In His HandsOctober 2019

Editors:

Lalith Perera Louis Benedict Gerard Davey

Co-ordinator:Felicia Adhihetty

Contributors to this Issue:Anisha Dias

Asela Perera

Ayomi Jansz

Biyanke Rajapakse

Charmaine Peiris

Darshi Egodawatte De Silva

Geetha Fernando

Himaya Perera

Irene Benjamin

Jayanath Perera

Jeya Chelliah

Kamala Fernando

Subscriptions:

To subscribe for “On Our Knees” please

fill in the form included in the back of this book.

Louis Benedict

Mario Dabera

Marie Fernando

Mineli Perera

Natasha Adhihetty

Nidarshi Fernando

Richie Fernando

Rushika Pieris

Sajee Jayasuriya

Shehana Jayatunga

Sunimalee Fernando

Yogini Yogarasa

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Solemnity of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, virgin & doctor

Isaiah 66: 10-14Psalm 130: 1-3Rev 3: 14, 20-22Matthew 18: 1-5

Tuesday 1st October

As we enter into October and look back how fast time has passed, we also need to recall the times we have acted with pride and arrogance. The disciples asked the Lord Jesus a significant question: “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”. The answer is vital for us to enter the kingdom of God.

The answer for this is in Mt 18:4; “whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven”. What does this mean? In other words for example if we take Moses, we know that he was a great man of God and he freed the Israelites from Egypt, parted the sea and did many miracles in God’s name. He was a humble, God fearing man. On the other hand if there is someone who did not do any of the great things that Moses or any of the other prophets but is more humble than any of them in God’s eyes, he is the greatest in the kingdom of God. None of the great signs and miracles could surpass humility. God is attracted to the humble and it is like a nuclear weapon that is available in the arsenal of God. Not many use this weapon in this modern age. Many of us are attracted to signs and wonders and this could make us blind to humility if we are not alert. Sirach 3:20, says, “Great is the might of the Lord, but by the humble He is glorified”.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Therese of the child Jesus, She has inspired many. Even though she was not capable of mighty deeds of various missionaries and Martyrs of the faith, she realized something quite important, indeed vital that ensured that she would become one of the 36 doctors of the Church. What mattered most to her was doing everything for the love and glory of God. Even the smallest penance or act of charity such as difficult household chores, if done well with love for God and neighbor can bring great graces.

St. Therese lived just 24 years and within the four walls of her convent. One could say that she lived a full-bloomed Christian life. The small-est action done with extraordinary love, is more important than great deeds done for personal glory.Today the Lord wants us to become humble. St. Augustine said “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.”

Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up

Prayer: Abba Father, give us the grace to be humble until we become people who do not desire any position but only seek your face. Amen.

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The Holy Guardian Angels - Memorial

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for their angels in heaven look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

Exodus 23: 20-23Psalm 90: 1-6, 10-11Matthew 18: 1-5, 10

Wednesday 2nd October

Matthew 18:10

Prayer: Abba Father, thank you and praise you for the security you have pro-vided. We are grateful to you. Amen.

We have a living God. Our God is a Triune God. Unfathomable truth is that our God is One God in Three persons. This is a mystery. God incarnate in a virgin without human intervention is a mys-tery. The Lord Jesus coming back to life and the Holy Spirit poured into the world are mysteries. The host and wine turning into the body and blood of Christ at the altar in the hands of an ordained

priest is a mystery.

Our lives are mysterious too. We have a spirit within us that none of us is fully aware of because the tangible elements are more real to us. We often worry about our physical well-being and forget about the intangible factors of our lives. Indeed we give emphasis to the development of our intellect. We work hard towards increasing our material possessions and positions forgetting that we are spiritual beings going through a human experience. God’s ways are indeed higher than our ways therefore He looks after our spiritual wellbeing too. He has placed Angels in our lives to protect us from seen and unseen dangers, which is another mystery we are invited to under-stand and believe.

Angels do exist. Angels are spiritual beings who are created for the service of God. The Greek word is αγγελος (angelos), which means messenger. We encounter Angels in many instances in the sacred scriptures. The promise given in the first reading today is that the angel of the Lord will go ahead of us and always bring victory to us. Angels have been a channel of God’s communication with human beings. Archangel Gabriel was sent to the Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26). The flight to Egypt took place through a message of an angel sent to Joseph in a dream (Matthew 2:13). Archangel Raphael was sent to accompany Tobias as an answer to the prayer of his father Tobit and his wife Sarah (Tobit 12:15). Archangel Michael constantly raged war against the devil (Jude 9 & Rev 12: 7).

We are a blessed generation who are never alone because God has assured us of our guardian angels. There is an angel who always hovers over us and is constantly appearing on our behalf in the throne room of the Father.

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26th Week in Ordinary Time

Nehemiah 8: 1-4a, 5-6, 7b-12

Psalm 19: 8-11Luke 10: 1-12

Thursday 3rd October

Luke 5:5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught

anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”Today’s first reading speaks of how the early Christians needed to understand that knowing God was not a one-time event; it is a recurrent relationship, where we continually rely on Him. He is the Hope we have; He gives us grace and peace. Our place and safety is in Heaven and our joy can then be declared and lived out. St. Paul confirms that, Christ is enough for faith and salvation; nothing else is or could be. Yes, we do

have hope beyond hope. If our place is secured in eternity-and it is; if we have a Saviour in whom we can have faith and trust-and we do, then we can lead a life of strength no matter what is thrown at us. These are things we cannot achieve by our own means; we need the Lord Jesus. He needs to be the priority in our lives! Thus, St. Paul urges us to put Christ first, and to move on to spiritual maturity. We know His Truth and we can be victorious in Him while here on earth.

In today’s Gospel proclamation our Lord Jesus gets into a boat and teaches the crowds from offshore. After which, He tells Simon to put out into deep water and to lower their nets. Nevertheless, that was the last thing Peter wanted to hear. They had been fishing all night long and had caught nothing! Peter was tired and irritated. He was ready to go home and rest. However, Peter unwillingly says: “at your request I will lower the nets.” To Peter’s great surprise they caught so many fish that their nets began to tear!

This is a story of working together. From the beginning we are loved and called together. We don’t make it on our own. We cannot be Christians on our own. Following the Lord Jesus is a call, a chal-lenge and a joy. We need community because we are living in a world which can be impersonal at times. The Gospel proclamation challenges the loneliness of going it alone and the feeling of doom. God is always near promising richness. We are never alone. But we can fail if we rely on ourselves. At these times, it is natural to get discouraged and frustrated! However, will we be open and respond to the Lord Jesus’ invitation to “keep lowering our nets?” Or will we say “enough is enough.” May we pray for the grace to have an open mind and a willing heart!

Prayer: Abba Father, deliver us from everything that clouds our understanding of You. Amen

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St. Francis of Assisi - Memorial“Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me...”

Baruch 1: 15-22Psalm 79: 1-5, 8-9Luke 10: 13-16

Friday 4th October

Today’s readings seem to be written in a negative context, at first glance - but upon closer inspec-tion, we see the intense love God has for His people right throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Prophet Baruch has been convicted by the Lord and is repenting for not listening to God’s

word which had been sent by a multitude of prophets, time and again. It is God’s mercy that draws a person to repentance, and Baruch is displaying the invisible act of mercy through his visible repentance. He acknowledges the sin of the nation - a downright disobedience of the very words that God was speaking to them.

Sin is a choice. One can choose to hear the word of the Lord and walk away from it. Doing so results in that person choosing to reject God and His teachings.

Centuries later, it seems that the situation has stayed the same, for we see the Lord Jesus reprimanding towns in their entirety because of their lack of faithfulness to the word of God. The Lord Jesus is incredibly stern with the towns that do not acknowledge their sinful-ness and instead continue on with their lives.

We too can receive this same warning from the Lord if we do not fix our mind and heart on God’s word. The Gospel Proclamation of today ends with a poignant verse - “...and he who rejects me rejects the One who sent me.” (Luke 10:16) We are not only called to heed God’s word, but also to proclaim it to those around us.

As we remember St. Francis of Assisi on this day of memorial, let us intercede to him that we may have the gift he had of preaching the gospel like he did - not necessarily through words, but by his very lifestyle. Let everything we do and say reflect the love of the Father. I

In this way, we will receive our eternal reward from God our Father on the Day of Judgment. We will not need to fear the fires of hell, for we will know that we did what was right and pleasing in His sight.

Luke 10:16

Prayer: Abba Father, help us emulate St. Francis of Assisi’s life and live in simplicity, glorifying you at all times. Amen.

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26th Week in Ordinary Time

“However do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven.”

Baruch 4: 5-12, 27-29Psalm 69: 33-37Luke 10: 17-24

Saturday 5th October

In the first reading words of encouragement are given to the people of Jerusalem. Despite their sinfulness and evil lives, the faithfulness of God to those who turn back to Him and seek Him is assured.

In the Gospel proclamation we see the disciples experience a tremendous power. Jesus Christ

filled with the Holy Spirit, prayed to the Father in gratitude because his disciples were beginning to understand the truths of God. He thanks the Father for His gracious love, while keeping it hidden from the ‘wise and the intelligent’.

Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would be the one on whom the Spirit rested. Jesus Christ revealed the indwelling Spirit, through the work he did and the joy he experienced and shared. The Holy Spirit longs to reveal Jesus Christ in us so that we would be filled with the same power and our faith would soar to unimaginable levels. The Blessed Mother is the greatest example of that power. She was the epitome of emptiness and therefore filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Great saints like Maximilian Kolbe were born and rose to these heights by making the Blessed Mother their model in life.

How do we open ourselves to the work of God in us? It means carv-ing out a time and space to be with the Lord. Primarily connect with Him through praise and worship giving Him glory. There is a power-ful medium that helps us to acknowledge God for who He is and to give Him the centrality in our lives. This is by reading the word of God and asking the Spirit to bring it to life in us and to reveal to us within, through the eyes of God. It means being at the liturgy in body and spirit. Deep contentment is experienced in communion with the Triune God. The Holy Spirit will start working in our lives in a deeper and exciting way. He will reveal the profound truths of life and guide us through every event and situation in our lives giving the deep purpose and meaning God intended for our lives. We will do great things in his name.

However, like the Lord said, don’t be happy about the power that will be wielded in your life but be happy that your names will be written in Heaven.

Luke 10:20

Prayer: Abba Father,open my mind to the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. Let me perceive and grasp in a deeper way the secrets of the kingdom.Amen.

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27th Sunday of Ordinary Time“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry

tree, ‘Be uprooted... and it will obey you.”

Habakkuk 1: 2-3, 2: 2-4Psalm 95: 1-2, 6-9

2 Timothy 1: 6-8, 13-14Luke 17: 5-10

Sunday 6th October

Today’s readings centre around the theme of faith. The bible’s definition of faith is found in St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews (11:1) “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” It is to believe that God will prevail over every obstacle or difficulty you face in life. Faith is also something we need to begin and maintain our journey with God.

How can we increase our faith in God? Faith is a gift that is given to us by God the Father. It is not something that we can conjure up within ourselves, but through reading the Bible, listening to sermons and preaching and through personal prayer we can bring ourselves closer to knowing who God is. But it is God who bestows faith in our hearts. It is through an experience of His presence, love and mercy that we can increase our faith. The Lord fills us with faith to be able to trust Him and believe in Him.

I recently read a quotation from C.H. Spurgeon, an English Baptist preacher from the 1800s, who said, “To trust God in the light is nothing, but to trust God in the dark—That is faith.” Faith in God can take us through the deepest valleys and highest mountains. It can change our perspective and give us hope and even take us past our earthly life.

In the first reading the Prophet Habakkuk writes in verse 4, “See, the enemy is puffed up;his desires are not upright— but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.” A righteous person who lives in the fear of the Lord will live by his faith in God. To live in the fear of the Lord is to place God at the centre of one’s life and to give priority to please God in everything. How can he put God first in everything? It is because this person has faith that God will come through for him, in any situation.

The Psalmist speaks of praising and worshipping God with everything we have. He says in verse 6, “Come, let us bow down in worship,let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” Who can worship the Lord? When God is the centre of our lives, we will always consult God to make a decision in our lives and we will always want to do what pleases God. If we want to find out if God is the centre of our lives, we must ask

- Luke 17:6

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Prayer: Abba Father, I want to know you more and more so that my faith in You may increase. Amen.

ourselves whose decisions do we follow in life. When we put God at the centre of our lives, we are worshipping God. We can then truly kneel down and worship God when we are right with Him and doing His will. In the second reading, St. Paul is appealing to St. Timothy to remain faithful to God and the Good News that is preached. St. Paul wants to Timothy to remain in his faith in God and not be waivered by anything. 2 Timothy 1:7-8 says, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.” Faith in God does not make us weak or timid, but instead empowers us, fills us with love and makes us disciplined. It is because of mes-sage that St. Paul preached to Timothy that he experienced God in His life. God filled St. Timothy with faith to believe. It is this faith that St. Paul is asking St. Timothy to hold on to when he is persecuted and suffers because of the Gospel he preaches. Tradition tells us that St. Timothy was probably with St. Paul when he was imprisoned at Caesarea and then Rome. St. Timothy was imprisoned as well, but later freed. After this he went to Ephesus, became its first bishop and was later stoned to death. He held on to his faith in God through persecution and ultimately to death and beyond.

In today’s Gospel proclamation from St. Luke, our Lord Jesus says, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” He speaks to each of us reading His Word. Even the smallest amount of faith, can bring about massive miracles in our lives.

Having become a mother recently, I have become a great worrier; the kind of person who worries about everything. I worry about all types of things harming my son. I worry about what he should and should not eat and do. The list is endless. Until I mentioned this to an elder and asked me if I believed the words ‘God is good all the time’. He diagnosed my problem: I did not have enough faith to believe that in the good times and bad that God is always good. It was that day I realized I needed to surrender my son to God and immerse myself in His word, so that He could fill me with faith once again. Today, if you feel you need more faith, start seeking God with your whole life. His word says, “When you seek, you shall find.” When you seek Him, you will find Him and He will give you faith to through anything.

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Our Lady of the Rosary - Memorial

Jonah 1:1 - 2: 1-2, 11Jonah 2: 3-5, 8Luke 10: 25-37

Monday 7th October

Luke 10:33Scripture Scholars describe the Book of Jonah as a parable or an allegory. However he is also mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25 and Jesus Christ Himself compares His Death and Resurrection to Jonah’s stay in the belly of the whale. It is a chal-lenging critique of the Jewish mentality that those outside their race were not fit for salvation. Jonah the reluctant prophet was unwilling to preach to the Ninevites. The universality and compassion of

God’s love is demonstrated in the Gospel proclamation. We encoun-ter people who misunderstood the unconditional love and mercy of God that transcended all boundaries. To the many Jews who placed their laws and rituals above the call to love, Jesus Christ relates a parable with a twist to its tail. He cordially endorses the first answer given by the Teacher. But His reply to the second would have sent shock waves to the whole community! No spark of compassion lit the hearts of the Priest and Levite, who were concerned with protecting a system of belief. The Priest remembered the ceremonial law which prohibited the touching of a dead body. The Levite was hurrying to fulfill the duties of his office. The dying man was ignored. The teacher to his amazement was confronted with a Samaritan (a hated race), who demonstrated unconditional love taking an uncalculated risk on that robber infested road to minister to the man. Jesus Christ’s love embraces the whole universe breaking all barriers.

Today we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, every decade of the Rosary takes us through the life of Jesus Christ, many of them shot through with pain. Mary would have gone through her own Gethsamane to pronounce the great Amen to God’s call. From Jesus Christ’s birth to His death on the Cross Mary suffered along with Him. But her inner response of patience, humility and obedi-ence created sacred space for the Word to take root in her womb. Truly a model to emulate. How do we respond to our Baptismal call as priests, prophets and kings? Having been grafted to Christ with a mission to carry Him to a fallen world, can we discriminate against people on the basis of their ethnicity, status or religion? We need to shift from our limited paradigms. We have been chosen, anointed and sent to give an inner response in all circumstances so that we too will create a sacred space where the Word can work through us.

He was moved with compassion.

Prayer: Abba Father, let your Holy Spirit enable us to fulfill your calling. Amen.

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27th Week in Ordinary Time

“...Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her.”

Jonah 3: 1-10Psalm 130: 1-b4, 7-8

Luke 10: 38-42

Tuesday 8th October

When reflecting on today’s first reading, there are a few areas that stand out. Firstly, the word of the Lord comes to Jonah a second time. Just like the Lord Jesus said “Simon, Simon,” the Lord God had to speak to Jonah more than once to get his attention. So merciful and patient is our God with His earthly messengers to call us repeatedly whenever we are not heeding His word.

However, even though it took some time for Jonah to convey God’s message to the people of Nineveh, he still did - and God relented. He did not bring about the disaster He had planned for the Ninevites. Instead, they received the compassion of the Lord upon that town.

All this was made possible because Jonah chose to listen to the word of God.

We too receive direction from the Lord in our own lives on a daily basis. Yet, how often do we heed His call? Do we choose to go about our routines and wait until the Lord prompts us a second or even a third time? Worse still, do we dare ignore the voice of the Lord alto-gether and choose to do what gratifies our flesh?

In times such as these, we can draw inspiration from today’s Gospel Proclamation. We are presented with the two sisters - Martha and Mary. Though outwardly, Martha was doing everything for the Lord, she was not taking time to internalize what the Lord was saying. As a result, it was Mary who found favour with God for she sat at the feet of the Lord Jesus and paid attention to all that He was saying.

As we move about our lives, let us choose to be Mary in a world full of Marthas. Serving the Lord is vital, but not before hearing what He has to tell us about His truth and His reality. It is only then that we can take His saving message out to a hurting world. If not we will be like empty vessels and before long, what we have to offer will run out and we will have nothing left to give to the world.

Luke 10:42

Prayer: Abba Father, help me to focus on Your word at all moments of my life. Amen.

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27th Week in Ordinary Time

Lord you are merciful and gracious...

Jonah 4: 1-11Psalm 86: 3-6, 9-10

Luke 11: 1-4

Wednesday 9th October

Jonah was chosen, called and sent by God to Nineveh to reveal God’s heart and mind to the people there. Like many of us he runs away from God but God makes him to go and proclaim His message to Ninevites. They repent and turn away from their evil ways. God stops the destruction that He threatened upon them. Jonah was un-happy and angry because God was gracious and

loving towards the Ninevites but took away Jonah’s personal comfort.

Just like Jonah, while serving God when things do not happen ac-cording to our own understanding, we grumble and want to quit. Thinking that we are perfect we are quick to judge and condemn others. It is hard for us to accept and forgive our brothers or sisters whom we encounter in our daily lives and we refuse to come out of our comfort zones. God forgave the Ninevites when they returned in repentance and today the Lord is inviting us to repent of our egoistic wicked ways and to return to Him.

In today’s Gospel proclamation we encounter Jesus Christ who was God’s perfect servant. He not only proclaimed the message but was the message Himself. He reveals to us the way to holiness. In Colossians 1: 15 Saint Paul says, that the Lord Jesus is the image of the invisible God. The Lamb of God sent by God to take away the sins of the world. Love, mercy and forgiveness flowed from Him to the worst sinner even as He faced insults, suffering and rejection. Multitudes were drawn to Him. The disciples saw the miracles, how the people followed the Lord Jesus. They realized the secret of the holiness in the life of the Lord Jesus was His constant communion with God the Father in prayer in solitude.

Thus they did not ask the Lord Jesus to teach them how to perform miracles but they asked Him to teach them to pray. The Lord Jesus taught them the ‘ Our Father’ - to acknowledge the Almighty God as our Father and to trust in Him and to be in communion with Him. Then we will have power to forgive and to resist temptation. From today let us make the ‘Our Father’ our constant prayer. Then the impossible will become possible in our lives.

Psalm 85:10

Prayer : Abba Father, have mercy on me, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant, for to you I lift up my soul. Amen.

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27th Week in Ordinary Time

The sun of justice will shine upon you.

Malachi 3: 13-20aPsalm 1: 1-4 & 6Luke 11: 5-13

Thursday 10th October

Most often the readings from the Old Testament books are scary and woeful but the reading from Malachi is quite comforting. Malachi 3:16 says... Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence con-cerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.

Further Malachi 4: 2 says 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.

How do we step into this journey of revering the Lord? The answer is explained to us in Luke 15: 9 9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

What is the problem with the prayer most of us make? If we pray all we do is ask. We look at God like a dispenser of things and giver of favours. We have to ask and He has to answer. We do not realise that sometime or at most we may be asking Him for a early destruc-tion. A few weeks ago I was in the Dubai airport looking at the Million Dollar Airport lottery. My thoughts were what if I win that lottery. I was so tempted to buy that ticket but it occurred to me that either I was about to waste a lot of money buying that ticket or if I did win that lottery who knows how I would have altered my life for the worse.

We are encouraged to go beyond asking, to seeking. To seek is a day in and day out practice To seek is to follow the trail of the Lord. To seek is to sniff out the fragrance of His presence and follow in His footsteps till we find him.

Knock and the door will be opened to you. I read somewhere, where this question was asked. Have you been knocking till your knuckles have begun to hurt. We knock three times and are impatient for the door or gate to be opened. We are assured that if we do these three things of asking, seeking and knocking which is to spend time with the Lord, our names will be written in Heaven and we will be saved.Prayer: Abba Father, today you have called me to ask, seek and knock. May I seek you that the sun of righteousness will rise on me and be my comfort. Amen

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27th Week in Ordinary Time

When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before you.

Joel 1: 13-15; 2: 1-2Psalm 9: 2-3, 6 & 16,

8-9Luke 11: 15-26

Friday 11th October

In today’s Gospel proclamation, Saint Luke speaks about evil spirits. Their nature and ways of acting are described in verses 24-26. We can use this passage and see the parallels between the evil spirits and the nature of sin. It is evil that drives us towards our pitfalls and addictions. Evil does not want us to be released from its grip.

A young man shared his story. At a young age he got addicted to watching pornography on the Internet. He is 16 years old now and feels that he is enslaved by this addiction. The moment he closes his eyes, those graphic images come to his mind. The moment he looks at a woman, impure thoughts flood his mind. He has confessed this many times at the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He stays out of it for a few days but falls again.

“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’” (Luke 11:24) When we confess our sins, evil is driven out of our hearts. By the blood of Jesus Christ, our addictions to lust, drunkenness, stealing, lying, fear and suspicion are broken and we are set free. However, why do we fall into these sins again? As I understand, we cannot remain as we were after receiving forgiveness. We have to invite the Holy Spirit into those empty places. We need to belong to Him. I must give the lordship of my life to Jesus Christ. If we do not do this, the evil will return and take us down. As verse 26 says “then it goes and brings back seven other spirits…” to tempt us. It creates doubts within us regarding the forgiveness and freedom we received at the Sacrament of Reconcili-ation. This is what happened to the young man, even though he kept returning to the Sacrament he kept on falling again because he was unable to surrender his life to Jesus Christ.

As the Psalmist says, “When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before you.” The Lord comes into our hearts and begins to reign over our lives. The more we surrender to Him, evil loses its hold on us. Let us ask for His strength to enter into this blessed and happy life.

Psalm 9:4

Prayer: Abba Father, strengthen me in my faith and give me the power to sur-render my life to you. Amen.

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27th Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus replied, “Truly blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it as well.”

Joel 4: 12-21Psalm 97: 1-2, 5-6,

11-12Luke 11: 27-28

Saturday 12th October

The first reading of today, which is taken from the book of the Prophet Joel, is richly filled with vari-ous forms of symbolism. However, let us focus on a few key points as we reflect on the readings of today:

Prophet Joel speaks of a ‘Valley of Verdict’. Some other translations of the Bible refer to this as the ‘Valley of Decision.’ To make a decision, one must

always have a choice. In the book of Deuteronomy, the Lord God of-fers people a choice - death or life - and He invites them to choose life.

This Valley of Verdict could be present in our own lives today as well. We may have been presented with choices - good or evil, spirit or flesh, right or wrong - and knowing our human frailty, nine times out of ten, we may have made the choice that leads to death.

However, the Lord did not create us with the purpose of living a life that leads to death. Instead, we were created with eternity in our hearts. Therefore, we need to consciously make decisions that will set us on that path to eternity.

The Valley of Verdict could also very well be a place where God Himself sits on the Throne of Judgment. God alone is the Righteous Judge, and when our days on earth are through, we may end up in this Valley of Verdict. On that day, are we convinced that we will end up with a verdict that is in our favour? For that to be assured, we need to choose life in all that we do.

The Lord Jesus gives us a glimpse at how to make such decisions through the Gospel Proclamation of today. He says very clearly, “Truly blessed are those who hear the Word of God, and keep it as well.” We have the grace to hear God speaking to us through events, people and the Bible itself. But hearing His word alone is not sufficient. It is more important to keep to the word that we hear.

When we obey the word of the Lord, we automatically choose life for His word is life itself. The more we obey God and His commands, the closer we will draw to eternity - and what a blessing that will be.

Luke 11:28

Prayer: Abba Father, help us to hear your word and put it into constant practice in our lives. Amen.

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National Laity Sunday

“ Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

2 Kings 8: 14-17Psalm 97: 1-4

2 Timothy 2: 8-13Luke 17: 11-19

Sunday 13th October

Luke 17:19

In the letter to the Hebrews the writer describes ‘faith’ as “confidence in what we hope for, and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is “the Currency of heaven”, without which we cannot possess our inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. (cf. 1 Peter 1:4).

Today’s First Reading is about Naaman, a man of good social status, yet with a huge stigma of that

era, namely leprosy. Naaman had no faith in the God of Israel or in Elisha, His prophet. Yet when the servant explained the sense in this seemingly nonsensical act he was asked to do, Naaman grudgingly obeyed, and the incurable sickness disappeared. The response of Naaman to the miracle was remarkable and he acknowledged the Lord God as the Only true God. Naaman’s faith grew in leaps and bounds, when he received the healing. He insisted that he shows his gratitude to the man of God, by offering valuable gifts but realised that the Giver of the gift was God Himself and not the prophet.Naaman’s most beautiful response was that he requested permission to take with him, the soil from where he experienced God so that he could worship God on that mound.

How does this experience of Naaman relate to us? Before I met the Lord through the Community of the Risen Lord, I too was a judgmen-tal person of anything and everything I could not understand.I was seeking a deeper relationship with the Lord through self effort and self righteousness and anything to do with loud praise and worship was considered “non-Catholic” and was rejected. Yet the Lord was merciful and loved me enough to turn me upside down and inside out through the experience of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Four Steps Retreat. I was made free from the prison of self-righteousness and was filled with a peace and joy I had never known before. I re-ceived the freedom not to take myself and my opinions too seriously. I burned with the desire to worship the Lord with all my being and give my all to the Community that brought me this experience.

Today’s Gospel Proclamation is about the response of the ten lepers who met the Lord and cried out to Him, to be healed. All of them re-ceived “the word” from the Lord Jesus, obeyed and received the heal-ing. Yet only one of them, returned to thank the Lord for the healing.

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Prayer: Abba Father, we thank You for Your unfathomable generosity, in giving us Your only Son to save us from sin and death. Grant us the same power to give of all we are and own. Amen.

The Lord sounded disappointed that the other nine did not feel the need to glorify God for their healing. Then He said to the one who was at His feet, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke17:19)The Lord attributed the leper’s gesture of gratitude , as the expression of his faith in God. All ten lepers were healed of leprosy but this one Samaritan who returned was made well.

We may receive many a healing or miracle from the Lord, but the enthusiasm created by such an experience can be short lived, as our nature takes over our desire to deepen our relationship with the Lord. We too, like the nine lepers, might offer a mental prayer of thanksgiv-ing and get on with our usual way of life. The miracle would not have done any good to our spiritual health and to our heavenward journey. The grateful leper’s action proved that he believed that it was the Lord Jesus who healed him. He placed the Lord Jesus at the highest point of his life and at that moment he became a worshiper and received God’s favour upon his life.

The Lord invites us to become thankful and grateful people, not because He is an egocentric God, but for our own sake. A thankful and grateful heart is the first step to surrender our life to the Lord and become a worshiper of the One true God, who, when enthroned in our lives, can do in us and through us, “immeasurably more than all we could ever ask or imagine”. (cf. Ephesians 3:20). Let us make a choice today, to be lavish givers of our all to the One who gave His all for us. He is worthy of our worship, our worth and our time. The situations that seem like mountains in our eyes, melt like wax before Him, the Lord of all the earth. (cf. Psalm 97:5)

As we reflect on the Second Reading, we are shown the opposite of the above blessing too. We will thrive in life to the extent we are con-nected to the Lord Jesus, but if we disown Him, He will also disown us. (cf. 2 Timothy 2:12). Hence, ultimately it is our choice if we want to live under the favour of God or not. Yet His utter faithfulness that knows no bounds ensures that He is always faithful to His promises, even if we are faithless. (cf. 2 Timothy 2:13).Let us be a generation who choose to thank our Father and Saviour in advance for being faithful to all His promises, given to us in Scripture.

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28th Week in Ordinary Time

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Romans 1: 1-7Psalm 97: 1-4Luke 11: 29-32

Monday 14th October

No matter what we do, what we have, where we go, there always seems to be a void within us that the world just does not fill in. Perhaps then, in today’s first reading St. Paul has the answer, “Among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ”. A statement so simple yet quite remarkably overlooked. It is to this belong-ing that God has been calling us; back to himself

through prophets, messengers and finally Jesus Christ himself. But since the beginning of time human beings have rebelled against God, much like a childish rebellion against their parents. The same could be said about our own lives. Though we are quite unaware of what is good for us, yet we are still adamant to have our own way. Yet, God’s mercy is just too deep that even the darkest of darkness is not dark for him.

In today’s Gospel proclamation Jesus Christ points out the example of Jonah. Before Jonah became the sign of God’s mercy to the city of Nineveh, the events of Jonah’s life seem to fit in with ours. When God commanded Jonah to go the city of Nineveh, Jonah rebelled and went his own way. Not only did Jonah cause a storm for himself but for the others too. The storm eased only after Jonah repented, and admitted that he was running away from God.

We too hear God’s word, whether it is at Mass or a prayer meeting and yet at the end of it we often go back to do our own thing. We hear with our ears and not with our heart. We bang our chest dur-ing the Liturgy saying “through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault” and yet it remains just words. Where is true repentance?

We often think the “storm” is other people and not us, we fail at times to look at what is raging in us, but if we turn to the Lord in sincere repentance, not only will his mercy be for us but also for others . By turning to him in true repentance, and through obedience to his voice, God can make us a sign of his mercy to this generation. No matter how sinful the city of Nineveh was, every breathing creature in it belonged to him and so was precious to Him.

Prayer: Abba Father, we turn to you in true repentance, because we belong to you and to you alone. Amen.

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St. Teresa of Jesus, virgin & doctor - Memorial

The Good News is God’s saving power!

Romans 1: 16-25Psalm 18: 2-5Luke 11: 37-41

Tuesday 15th October

Do we need God’s saving power? Yes we need God’s sav-ing power because when we do not give Him the glory and honour we lose ourselves in our own reasoning and darkness fills our minds.

This is precisely what happened to the Pharisee who invited the Lord Jesus to his home for dinner. He was so startled by fact that the Lord Jesus a Jew did not wash his hands before

the meal. But the Lord had already delved deeply in this man’s way of thinking and it was totally flawed.

What was the flaw these so called upholders of the law were committed to? According to them, they sincerely believed that if they gave alms, everything would be made clean. In short they believed that if on the outside they did works of charity and showed off their holiness all would be fine. But the Lord is concerned about the inside.

Isn’t this the way the world thinks? Most people believe that if they are ‘good’ and do charity or build something, their sins will be washed away and they will win a straight ticket to Heaven. But the Lord clarifies as in Luke 11: 39 - “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?

We reach such a state of blindness when we suppress the truth by our wickedness and live life the way we think we should. Instead we must turn to and learn from the word of God. Secondly Romans 1: 21 says “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

They neither glorified Him nor gave Him thanks. We do not glorify God only through loud praise - which is important to experience transforming power - but in every act we must be glorifying and giving thanks to God. Further, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. It might not have been idols but it could have been power, prestige, money and status. Let us give up such idols and experience the power of the Gospel within our hearts.Prayer: Abba Father, I surrender my interior life into your hands. Amen

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28th Week in Ordinary Time

“Trust God at all times, my people! Pour out your hearts to God our refuge!”

Romans 2: 1-11Psalm 61: 2-3, 6-7, 9

Luke 11: 42-46

Wednesday 16th October

Living a Christian virtuous life is the ultimate call of a Christian. When we confess from our mouth that Christ Jesus is God it is a confirmation of love and compassion. God is love; Christ Jesus is God; therefore Christ Jesus is love. This is ex-plained in the first reading today. The gruesome epidemic we Christians suffer is an unspoken guilt, especially those who are called to minister

in the Christian realm. Why guilt? None could live up to the standard of Christ Jesus. All carry a rotten and reeking guilt deep within us because in spite of the anointed words we speak, beautiful hymns we sing, unselfish acts we perform and the works of wonder happening in and through us, deep down in our hearts we know who we are and that awareness makes us feel guilty.

What could be the result of this? We pass judgment. We judge oth-ers because we have already judged ourselves. We forget it was the unconditional love and grace of God that shifted our paradigms and made our inner being awakened. This conversion happened because of the priceless kindness of God towards us but we treat others with stubborn and impenitent hearts. We easily forget that when we pass judgment it reveals our own inner disposition.

The Lord Jesus’ candid words in the Gospel proclamation wake us from our slumber. Often we live lukewarm and sluggish lives in a false belief. Especially our self-centeredness moves us to believe that we are in the correct and proper disposition and the rest of the world is wrong. We truly need to enter the ‘real and true’ Kingdom of God. True Kingdom of God is to be God-centric. When we are God-centric then we are moved by His love. It is easy to preach, sing and be of service to other people, but who are we at home? Our availability to our family, friends and society builds unity, which ultimately builds strong bonds in humanity in Christ Jesus that cannot be broken. Judgment and criticism will bring divisions. Let us help one another beginning from our family and friends; in this manner our faithfulness to God will be evident. Isn’t this what the Lord Jesus bluntly said to the Pharisee? Is He not talking to us today in the same manner? Faithfulness in small things pleases God.

Psalm 62: 9

Prayer: Abba Father, help me to love my family, friends and community that I can be a powerful instrument in your hands even to the ends of the world. Amen.

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Thursday 17th October St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop & martyr - Memorial

Share mercy and spread the story of salvation

Romans 3: 21-30aPsalm 129: 1-7aLuke 11: 47-54

In the first reading, which is from the letter to the Romans, St. Paul gives us the basic overview of God’s justification. In Romans 3:21-26, we learn that justification is (1) revealed outside of the law, (2) witnessed by the Prophets, (3) pro-vided by God, (4) received by faith, (5) needed by all, (6) given as a free gift, (7) purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ, (8) declared by God,

and (9) designed by God. In the second part of the reading, St. Paul teaches us about the consequences of faith. He starts by asking the question, “where then is boasting”, that is in relation to the free grace of God in justification that comes by faith alone. This allows us to reflect that if justification by faith is what we desire, then we need to be living a humble life, in which there is no boasting, ego, self-pity, or self-exaltation. St. Paul goes further explaining that all who are justified are justified equally. Social/class status that we hold in this world does not make a difference as no one person is more justified than another. In God’s eyes we are all the same. This is the message that God wants the whole world to know, which is the message of salvation.

In the Gospel proclamation we see another conflict between the Lord Jesus and the religious authorities of that time. The Lord criticizes the scholars of the Jewish law for taking away the key of knowledge. By rejecting Jesus Christ and his teachings, they not only have failed to come to God but were at the same time hindering others from coming to God. The Lord Jesus himself was the key to the knowledge of God, because he reveals God in a human form. God has given us the key to knowing him by giving his only begotten son, Jesus Christ for us. It seems that our Lord Jesus was teaching us a two-fold lesson through today’s gospel proclamation: not only we are responsible for our own actions, but we are also responsible for the actions of others as they follow our wrong examples of life. We must not be like the Pharisees who were well-regarded as the experts in the law, but were not only failing to know God themselves, but were also keeping others away from God. Let us draw people towards Christ Jesus.Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace and wisdom to live as you and to become a messenger of your mercy and salvation. Amen.

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Friday 18th October Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist

“Your Friends tell the glory of your kingship, Lord”Psalm 145:11

2 Timothy 4: 10-17bPsalm 144: 10-13ab,

17-18Luke 10: 1-9

As the church celebrates the feast of St Luke the evangelist today, the Gospel proclamation beautifully narrates the mission of the seventy-two appointed by the Lord Jesus. They were sent out to the places where the Lord Himself was to go. While sending them on mission the Lord gives them clear guidelines of what missionary life is all about and a foretaste of what is yet to come.

Those whom the Lord calls to follow Him are then always sent on a mission: We are the seventy-two who have come after the twelve grafted and rooted in the Lord through our Baptism and called be the salt and light to this tasteless darkened world we live in today.

As I was praying the Lord was enlightening my mind and spirit to see the blessedness of community life He has called us to live through CRL. Nourished by the weekly message, teachings and daily prayer life we are being sent out to our families and friends, parishes, work places, schools to proclaim the kingdom of God and bring healing to divisions among his people.

The Lord invites us to travel this journey light, not be burdened or weighed down with cares and worries of this world or dependence on our finances or resources. This is done so that we might more readily offer peace to those we meet on our journey daily.

Though there may be moments that we may become “like lambs in the midst of wolves” the Lord is inviting us not give up the vision of the kingdom but keep returning back to his heart through the beautiful prayer of four steps as we live the day moment by moment.

As the Lord has chosen us like St Luke and directs to ‘Go’ let us place our complete trust in Him and depend on Him alone … and pray that the Lord of the harvest may send many labourers to his harvest through this beautiful community where his sons and daughters will be able to carry the Baptism of the Spirit to the ends of the earth.

Prayer: Abba Father, I thank you for choosing me to be a child of this com-munity… where I may grow and mature to a deeper journey with you. Amen.

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Saturday 19th October 28th Week in Ordinary Time“Anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven”

Luke 12:10Why is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit an unpardonable sin? Normally when speaking of sin we quickly focus in on the mercy of God and His abundant desire to forgive us. But in this passage we have something that could at first appear quite contrary to the mercy of God. The Gospel proclamation clearly states that the Lord Jesus came to forgive our sins and the sins of the whole world, but today’s scripture reflection

states that sin against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable.

To understand the context of this passage, we need to reflect that the sin of “blaspheming the Holy Spirit,” is any sin that a person clings to by continually resisting the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. It becomes an unpardonable sin because the person does not want to give up, confess, or even ask forgiveness for and additionally does not want to hear any more about it from the Holy Spirit.

In the scriptures, the Lord Jesus described the Holy Spirit as “the Paraclete,” meaning advocate, comforter, and guide, who instructs us and reminds us of what our Lord taught. As Paraclete and Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit conveys the grace to enlighten our consciences to judge what is right versus what is wrong, and strengthens our wills to do good and avoid evil. The Holy Spirit moves us to examine our conscience, and reflect on what we have done or what we have failed to do. In this task, the Holy Spirit moves us to conversion, helping us to recognize when we have turned away from the Lord through sin, and moving us to turn back to Him with a contrite and humble heart. Through the Holy Spirit, forgiveness is conveyed, and the truth and love of the Lord is restored in our souls. Even in our own life after knowing the Lord and being baptized in the Holy Spirit, if we regularly do not head the voice of the Holy Spirit we begin to silence His convictions. Eventually we will not be able to hear His convicting power. The convicting voice of the Holy Spirit gets softer and softer and we block the work of God in our lives. It will just be a matter of time when we would reach a point where we are unable to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, thus effectively cutting off our repentance and in turn our salvation.

Romans 4: 13, 16-18Psalm 104: 6-9, 42-43

Luke 12: 8-12

Prayer: Abba Father, I thank you for your gift of the Holy Spirit, residing in our hearts. I ask of your grace to continually foster within our hearts a greater sor-row for sin and a deeper trust in your divine mercy. Amen

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29th Sunday of Ordinary Time

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness

Exodus 17: 8-13Psalm 120; 1-8

2 Timothy 3: 14 - 4: 2Luke 18: 1-8

Sunday 20th October

Today’s second reading starts with the state-ment: Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it. St. Paul seems to be implying that a person’s ability to be faithful to what they learn and believe is somehow linked to the people he or she learns their faith from. In St. Timothy’s case, these people not only include his mentor St. Paul, but

his immediate family to whom he has been exposed to from infancy.

In the section that precedes today’s second reading St. Paul says: You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kind of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the perse-cutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. When we model our faith, by giving inner responses and creating a sacred space, especially when things do not go our way, it not only helps us to overcome the odds while remaining faithful but inspires those we mentor. Like St. Paul, those we mentor can be those we minister to, or like Timothy’s mother and grandmother, it can be the members of our family. The Acts of the Apostles says that St.Timothy’s father was a Greek, and St. Timothy himself was not circumcised when St. Paul initially met him. This means that the family environment St. Timothy was exposed to from infancy was far from perfect, and yet it was this family that modelled faith for him. It tells me that my home or my environment need not be perfect for me to create a sacred space. When I create a sacred space, despite my circumstances, a power is generated, and those who watch us receive this power; the ability to be faithful.

In today’s first reading we meet Joshua, another man like St. Timothy, .This is the first instance in the Bible where Joshua’s name is men-tioned. He embarks on a journey from leading the battle against the Amalekites, to leading the Jewish people, taking the place of Moses. He is mentored by Moses like St.Timothy was mentored by St. Paul. When Moses went up Mount Sinai to spend time with God, and ulti-mately brought the Ten Commandments down, Joshua tagged along. When Moses went to encounter God in the Tent of Meeting, and the ’Shikenah’ of God would rest upon the tent,the Jews would all come out of their tents, fall on their faces, and worship – but not Joshua. He was inside the tent of meeting with Moses. He knew

2 Timothy 4:16

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Prayer: Abba Father,give us the grace and wisdom to fashion our lives upon your revelations, and not only experience your saving power, but inspire those who look at us as well. Amen.

Moses better than anyone else. It looks to me that when the time was right God took the faithfulness that was on Moses and placed it on Joshua.

In today’s first reading, we are also treated to a demonstration of the power of intercession. Joshua does the “real work”, while Moses prays. The reading shows us that victory against the Amalekites would not have been possible if either of these roles had been missing. Like in the story of Mary and Martha, we are often tempted to think that the one who does the real work, like Joshua and Martha, receives the short end of the stick. The reading goes on to reveal that Moses did not have things easy either. He grew tired and weary. He needed the support of Aaron and Hur. There are times where we grow weary as we wait for the Lord to intervene. There are times when our leaders grow tired and weary. The Lord invites us to support the weary ones keep their hands lifted towards heaven.

In today’s Gospel proclamation our Lord Jesus exhorts the value of persistence. He uses the example of a helpless widow confronted by a dishonest judge, who has no intent of giving a fair judgment. I wonder why our Lord Jesus used such a drastic example, likening God, who is good, to a dishonest judge. It maybe because at times when God delays, He appears to be like the dishonest judge. It is at times like this that we are called to look to scripture to see and re-member who God is, breaking through the clouds of our perceptions and feelings to see the face of a God who is good all the time, rather than a dishonest judge. The second reading reveals that looking at our role models is not the only leg we must stand on. St. Paul points to St. Timothy’s knowledge of scripture as something that gives him wisdom (not just knowledge) to pull down the saving power of God through faith. The NIV translation of the second reading says that God has breathed upon all scripture. There are two other instances of God breathing upon something that comes to mind. The first is upon a person at creation. The second is Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones. In both cases inanimate dead things begin to have a life of their own. There is supernatural intervention associated with scripture. St. Paul goes on to say that scripture equips us, who belong to Him, for every good work. To me “every good work” implies the ability to know and do what God desires when the going gets tough. Finally, he charges St. Timothy to preach the word, and be prepared in season and out of season. To me preaching does not necessarily mean getting upon a podium and speaking. It is what I say and do when my actions and thoughts are fashioned by the wisdom revealed by God in scripture.

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Monday 21st October 29th Week in Ordinary Time

“And because he was mighty in faith and convinced that God had all the power needed to fulfil his promises, Abraham glorified God” Romans 4: 21

Abraham is called the father of faith and in this let-ter to the Romans, St Paul so beautifully explains why this is so. Despite overwhelming evidence that stated otherwise, Abraham was fully convinced that God could and would do all that He had prom-ised. Abraham did not let his limited resources or his natural ability limit the power of God. While waiting for the promise to come, despite how the current situation looked, Abraham glorified God.

This simple and steadfast belief in the goodness of God was credited to Abraham as righteousness.

We see in the Gospel proclamation the Lord Jesus rebuking the wealthy land owner. We often get caught up in this thinking that God is rebuk-ing the man due to him being wealthy. We forget that God is the owner of everything there is and loves to give good things to His children. But He wants us to rely on Him and to place our trust in Him, not on earthly things that have no eternal significance. Wealth becomes an issue when it takes the place of God in our affection. When God asked Abraham to pack up everything, leave his country and his comfort zone and set out to the land God was showing him, he did so out of trust. And as the story unfolds we see that Abraham is always well provided for. He had plenty of livestock. He got the land that had deep wells and fruitful soil. He was respected and feared by his neighbours because he prospered. This is the life that comes when we decide to fully trust in God’s provision, even when it does not seem like it could work out. The covenant God made with Abraham was fulfilled by Jesus through His cross and resurrection. The gospel of St. Luke states that because God remembered His covenant and showed us mercy, we are now saved from our enemies. Now we can boldly worship God with holy lives, living in purity as priests in His presence. God’s desire is that we embrace our true calling to be a royal nation, a holy priesthood and a people set apart for God. In the Old Testament, when God teaches Moses and the Israelites how to live, He specifically tells the Levites that they are not to be allotted an inheritance, as God Himself is their inheritance. God Himself wanted to provide personally for those who are set apart for Him. And through the cross of Jesus, we who are now a holy priesthood set apart for the Lord are invited to live in this reality where we fully believe that God can and will do all that He has promised to us. That He is our abundant life and that He can fulfil every need and every desire of our lives.

Romans 4: 20-25Luke 1: 69-75Luke 12: 13-21

Prayer: Abba Father, let me fix my eyes on You and set my affection on You. Amen.

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Tuesday 22nd October St. John Paul II, pope

Don’t let distractions hinder your call

Today’s Gospel proclamation exhorts us to be vigilant, to be dressed and ready for service. One thing is certain Christ Jesus will come again and when it happens we need to ask ourselves if we are prepared for Him? The distractions and disap-pointments of life or perhaps unbelief may have caused our light of faith to grow dim and service lukewarm. The Lord reveals we will stay blessed

when the Master finds us vigilant and ready in service.

I am reminded of a dream I had a year ago. It was in a setting of a wed-ding ceremony. One colourful bride after another beautifully dressed and each making their way up a long stairway. They all seemed to be walking up to meet their Groom. It was my turn. I had to pick a dress. I did, but a family member was not too happy with my choice. I wanted to please them so I picked another but then another family member was not happy with that choice. In the end I seemed to be wrapped up in confusion and could not make it up the stairway to the ceremony. I woke up remembering the dream so vividly (unlike other dreams which I forget when I wake up). I had missed the ceremony I thought and the Lord showed me as clear as day that I was close to compromising His call to appease others.

This wake-up call came during a season of doubt in my life. I was becoming luke-warm in my service to God. I remember thinking, “why not just be ‘normal’, Just say your prayers, go to church but do not go crazy in this ‘following Christ’ business” that way we would be safe and understood. In actual fact I was avoiding the narrow door and entering the a door of destruction. Yes serving but not being prepared for service nor anticipating His return.

If you might be in a similar situation today, we pray you will be free in giving your doubts and fears to God and receiving His grace. St Paul explains, just as death reigned through one man’s sin, so too, one Man’s obedience brought justification and life to all; making us just and holy. Once again, we are dressed and ready in service, our lamps burning bright and we remain blessed.

Romans 5: 12, 15b, 17-19, 20b-21

Psalm 39: 7-10, 17Luke 12: 35-38

Prayer: Abba Father, give me grace to stay vigilant and prepared to serve you at any cost. Help me keep my lamp burning for you. Amen.

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Wednesday 23rd October

Prayer: Abba Father, I desire to live a life in submission to you and your will. In the moments that I fail, pick me up and restore me. Amen.

29th Week in Ordinary Time

Are you ready?

We have two ways of living; with our minds fo-cused on the end or fixed on the present moment. St Paul’s letter to the Romans teaches us a way of living that God wants us to pursue. We are invited to live in a new way, to offer ourselves as persons as if returned from death to life. When we experience the love of the Lord Jesus, we are on longer persons living under the law but under

grace. It does not mean that we ignore the law but with the grace of God we fulfill it while soaring over the boundaries. It is like writing an exam to meet the minimum requirements or excelling well over 90%. St. Paul reveals pearls of wisdom as he states, with sin you go to death but by accepting faith you go the right way. Our invitation is to live in a relationship with God, depending on Him so that we have the grace not to submit to the gleam of sin and its evil inclinations.

Galatians 5: 17-18 says “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a] you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”As the letter from Galatians says, “Do not do whatever you want.” In today’s world we are invited to discover ourselves and try different things. But the word of God says the opposite. We are advised to seek the direc-tion of the Spirit, in every decision that we take. Sometimes we are asked to go ahead and at times we are invited to pause. We may not understand God’s ways but later we will see the benefit of not doing what we thought was right.

We are invited to shift from being slaves of impurity to servants of righteousness the reason being - the Son of Man will come at a time we do not expect. We can live fearing that moment or we can enjoy the journey with a life of submission and prayer. Through a life of prayer we are able to discern the will of God. The person who knows the will of God but did not prepare and do what his master wanted will be soundly beaten but fortunate is the servant if his master on coming home, finds him or her doing their work. They will be blessed.

Romans 6: 12-18Psalm 123: 1-3, 4-8

Luke 12: 39-48

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Thursday 24th October 29th Week in Ordinary Time

“I have come to bring fire upon the earth...”St. Luke 12:49

In the first reading, St. Paul brings out the two adverse forces at work in our bodies, where one has to make a choice, and this choice would make us either to be a slave to impurity or a slave to righteousness. This is the battle we face in our day-to-day living. Giving in to the desires of our flesh leads us to be slaves of impurity. This is the broad gate many choose to walk. But Jesus Christ

invites us to take the narrow gate, which leads us to the kingdom of God (Mat. 7:13-14). Choosing to be a slave/servant to righteous-ness is to live in the Kingdom of God. Many who made this choice became Saints, Martyrs.

The word “slave” is to become stripped of one’s freedom, and we are either trapped in doing unholy things, choosing to be someone in this world by our egoistic thinking, or we choose through suffering, pain and rejection to live in the Kingdom of God. Walking away from our calling will only lead us to more confusion where we are fooled by the flesh and the world which ultimately leads us to death, that is a life away from God. When we make the choice to become slaves of righteousness we enter into God’s everlasting life. Jesus Christ has redeemed us by His blood so we can make this choice.

The Gospel proclamation beautifully connects us to the results of the two choices. The choice the Lord himself had to make made Him look different. He was killed for this. When He did it, it made a great impact on humanity. Through His death and resurrection He won for us eternal life. The Fire he speaks of is the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Choosing this life will certainly make us different, just as it happened in His time. The temple priests and the then religious leaders who lived by their own understanding, twisting the Word to suit their needs, could not accept the Son of God who was among them, because he was a mere carpenter. In the same way, those who choose the life of Jesus Christ, will go through rejection, and the divisions will first start in their homes. We need to live with this fire, which the Lord wants us to have. It is the energy coming directly from him, which sustains our life when we face division and rejection.

Romans 6: 19-23Psalm 1: 1-4 & 6Luke 12: 49-53

Prayer: Abba Father, anoint us daily with your Fire to make us choose righteous-ness and belong to the Kingdom of God. Amen.

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Friday 25th October 29th Week in Ordinary Time

Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts. Psalm 119: 93-94

Pope Francis during a mass in Casa Santa Marta said, “Times change and we Christians must continually change,” discerning “the signs of the times” and remaining “firm in the truth of the Gospel”. The Pope was commenting on the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans (7,18-25a) which preaches “freedom such force That saved us from sin” and the passage from the Gospel of Luke

in which Jesus speaks of the “signs of the times” and describes as hypocrite giving to those who can understand them but do not do the same with the Son of Man. God set us free, the Pope explained, and in order to have this freedom, we must open ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit and clearly understand what is happening within and around us through discernment.

“We have this freedom to judge whatever is happening around us. But in order to judge, we must have a good knowledge of that is hap-pening around us. And how can we do this? It’s precisely Christian wisdom that recognizes these changes, recognizes the changing times and recognizes the signs of the times. What one thing and another thing means. And do this freely, without fear.”

What is the message that the Lord wants to give us with this sign of the times? We need to be silent, observe and reflect within ourselves. One example: why are there so many wars nowadays? Why did something happen? And pray… silence, reflection and prayer. It’s only in this way that we can understand the signs of the times, what Jesus wants to tell us.” Understanding should not be confined to an elite cultural group like professors or doctors. Instead he urged us to look at the farm labourer who knows how to “separate the wheat from the chaff.” We must change whilst remaining fixed to our faith in Jesus Christ, fixed to the truth of the Gospel but we must adapt our attitude continuously according to the signs of the times. We are free...thanks to the gift of freedom given to us by Jesus Christ and we must discern the signs of the times – through silence, reflection and prayer.” (Source: Vatican City - AsiaNews)

Romans 7: 18-25aPsalm 118: 66, 68, 76-77,

93-94Luke 12: 54-59

Prayer: Abba Father, I ask you to open my spiritual eyes that I may be able to discern the signs of the times. Amen

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Saturday 26th October 29th Week in Ordinary TimeWho may ascend the mountain of the Lord? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,

who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. Psalm 24:3-4)

As people longing to fulfil God’s will we are in a constant battle with our spirit and our flesh. In the Old Testament God gave people a set of guide-lines (The Law). This law was God’s will for His people. However people kept breaking the law because they were trying to fulfil it by their own strength (the flesh).

In today’s first reading St. Paul writes that it is impossible for us to fulfil God’s law on our own. To help us overcome our flesh God the Father sent us His only Son to live a life just like us. Our Lord Jesus lived just like us but overcame sin and death. How did He do it? He did it by the power of the Holy Spirit. In every situation of our lives we have two choices: either to satisfy our flesh or to satisfy the spirit. However, we often give into our flesh because it seems easier, more logical and more advantageous. But the will of the Spirit will often be difficult, illogical and less advantageous on the outside. A moment of disconnection from the Holy Spirit is enough for the flesh in us to come out. Therefore our Spirit needs to be awakened every day and at every moment.

In the Gospel proclamation Jesus Christ tells a parable about a fig tree that does not bear fruit. The vineyard’s owner wants the tree to be cut down because it had no fruit, but the caretaker takes on the responsibility of tending to it and asks for more time. If we compare our lives to the fig tree most often it does not bear fruit that God ex-pects because we give into our flesh. Though rightly this kind of life should destroy us Jesus Christ intervenes and offers us forgiveness and gives us more opportunities just like the caretaker of the fig tree.

The fertilizer Jesus Christ offers us includes forgiveness, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. In this journey of life the Lord Jesus gives us many opportunities to live a transformed life. A life that is pleas-ing to Him and a blessing to those around us. Whenever we fail to live according to God’s will we can fall at the feet of Jesus Christ in repentance. He forgives us and gives us a new beginning.

Romans 8: 1-11Psalm 23: 1-3ab, 5-6

Luke 13: 1-9

Prayer: Abba Father, I thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Help me to live in your Spirit and to overcome my flesh in every situation. Amen.

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Sunday 27th October 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time

“The prayer of a humble person goes past the clouds until it reaches the Lord Most High, where it stays until he answers “. Sirach 35: 17

“Don’t bribe God, He will not accept them”. To-day’s first reading sets the stage for an interest-ing beginning. Just as I read these words, many people who are guilty of bribing God to get fa-vorscame to my mind. I was certain that this is a part of the Bible that they had surely missed! Then came verse 17; “The prayer of a humble person goes past the clouds, and keeps on going until it

reaches the Lord Most High, where it stays until he answers…” The message on the Power of Humility that we had been reflecting,pierced my little bubble of judgement of others. The battle of the two worlds; the world of the flesh against the world of the spirit rises in me even when I read the scriptures!

When we reflected on the message of choosing the narrow gate, we saw that the only person who fits in through the narrow gate is a person with humility. A humble person is not a coward or remains unheard and unseen because of the flaws in their personality. It is a person who does not hold on to anything but God, and his or her only purpose in life is to please God. We saw this in the lives of the Blessed Mother and St. Anthony. They were completely focused on magnifying and glorifying God;creating a sacred space that enabled Him to work in their lives in the most powerful way. Today’s first read-ing takes us back to the message of the Power of Humility.

“The prayer of a humble person goes past the clouds until it reaches the Lord Most High, where it stays until he answers”. Most of us pray more when we need God to intervene in our problems, so that we can be victorious. Then we go into Plan B, we do all that is humanly possible to win. We tell ourselves (and of course, remind God) be-cause we serve Him, He will give us a breakthrough. Then, if the unthinkable happens, we do not spare even a moment to wonder if it was actually an answer to our prayer. We lose God’s perspective completely. We continue to fight a battle to get what we want; only to find in the end,the victory was not as sweet as we thought. If only we stopped to choose the narrow gate, created a sacred space for God to act, our prayer would have most certainly pierced the clouds and reached God.

Sirach 35: 15b-17, 20-22Psalm 33: 2-3, 17-19

& 232 Timothy 4: 6-9, 16-18

Luke 18: 9-14

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Prayer: Abba Father, fill me with your Holy Spirit, the way you did in the life of the Blessed Mother and the Saints of the church so that my soul will magnify you and my spirit rejoices in you. Amen

IIn today’s Gospel proclamation the Lord speaks to us about the prayer that reaches God through the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. The Pharisee had fulfilled all that he was supposed to fulfill according to the law of Moses. He had prayed faithfully, observed all the rituals, fasted twice a week, paid his tithes and served God.

The tax collector on the other hand, had abused his fellow Jews to serve a Roman emperor, chosen a sinful lifestyle, enjoying the worldly pleasures that came along with it. His questionable lifestyle must have been a good reason for him to stay away from God. A man like that would turn to God only if he was in great trouble and had no other option… It was not a big secret to him that he was in no position to ask for favours from God, so he prayed for mercy. The prayer of the sinner crying out from the abyss pierced the cloud and reached God.

When we are on the path to choosing the narrow gate, we can eas-ily fall into the trap of the Pharisee. We can quietly be proud of our humility. We can see ourselves above others as we give up our time and resources to serve God. God in His mercy has given us Saints to model our lives after them. There were men and women of God who gave up worldly positions and possessions, because they discovered a treasure far greater than what they gave up. The Lord Jesus speaks to our hearts; “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

St Paul in his second letter to Timothy says; “At my first defence, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the mes-sage might be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles might hear it”.

St Paul sees a betrayal of others as a great opportunity to see God at His side, and to be on the mission completely relying on His strength. God can do great and mighty things only through men and women who can trust Him enough to abandon their lives into His hands. In His hands we are broken, transformed into men and women to whom humility becomes effortless, creating a sacred space for God to act in the world we live in.

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Monday 28th October Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, apostles

Many lives, one purpose

Today the church celebrates the feasts of Sts. Simon the Zealot and St. Jude, both apostles of our Lord Jesus. They are renowned for their missionary work carried out after the feast of Pentecost and historic documents reveal that they travelled together in their missionary work. They may have not have known each other before they were chosen by our Lord Jesus, but as the gospel

of today reminds us, they were chosen and called to be disciples of our Lord Jesus after a whole night of prayer. Two very different men, called and working together for a single purpose, was made to re-member throughout the church till the end of time as a legacy for their witnessing to what they believed, what they preached and for what they died as martyrs. How many lives were touched and transformed because of their witnessing over the centuries and even today how many seek the intercession of St. Jude who is more popular in our country as the patron saint of lost cause.

God the Father would have revealed this awesome plan to our Lord during some hour in that night’s prayer before He chose them. We know that God has a plan for all of us and we want to tell everyone else that He has a plan for them too and all that happens is in that plan, but how often do we truly believe in that plan for us. How much do we grumble and complain about the people God has put into our lives and how unhappy we are of these people that are in our life. Husbands, wives, in-laws, siblings, neighbors, work colleagues, people on the road etc. How sad it is that we cannot accept the ones God has placed into our lives. The truth is how unsatisfied we are of Gods choice of people in our life.We are called for one purpose which is greater than our own life, that is to get along, work peacefully and to focus on letting people know of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.When we live as we are called and with the purpose in mind St. Paul tells us that we are no longer strangers but citizens in the Kingdom of God. We are becoming the sanctuary where the Almighty God lives. How can we see the other person different then?

Ephesians 2: 19-22Psalm 18: 2-5Luke 6: 12-19

Prayer: Prayer: Abba Father, help us to accept one another as you have shown us today through Sts. Simon & Jude, help us to remember that you have planned my life and to you I surrender. Amen.

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Tuesday 29th October 30th Week in Ordinary Time

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8: 18Christianity began with twelve followers of the Lord Jesus that were considered insignificant in the eyes of this world. Twelve mustard seeds were planted by the Lord on earth. Today it has spread a cross the entire world.

God always chooses little and insignificant people to build His kingdom on earth. Mother Teresa is

one of the great examples. She was a little nun, not even 5 feet in height and considered as nothing in the eyes of this world. God chose her and planted a seed in her life. She went to the streets of Calcutta with just 5 rupees in her hand not knowing what would happen next. Ultimately she ended up founding over 500 convents that served the poor and the destitute in 126 countries around the world. Additionally, she won the Nobel Peace prize, was awarded doctorates from leading universities and named the most powerful woman in the world; all because she trusted in God alone for everything. She surrendered her entire life to the Lord Jesus.

Today’s first reading shows us the path of surrendering our life to God is not always a happy and easy one. We have to go through many hardships and sufferings to bring the kingdom of God on this earth. But our reward is not on this earth, it is in heaven. For many of us Christians, our reality is this life only. Eternal life should become our reality. We have to do everything possible in this life fixing our eyes on heaven.

As Saint Paul says, present suffering is not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed to us. Let us go through every hardship, sickness, trouble in this life with much patience, as something greater, something that is incomprehensible in this life awaits us. That is see-ing God face to face one day, spending eternity with Him without any of the cares and troubles of this world. This should be our reality as Christians, not big houses, luxury cars, better jobs and more money in this world. All these things will fade away but who ever who does the will of God will live forever.

Romans 8: 18-25Psalm 125: 1-6Luke 13: 18-21

Prayer: Abba Father, help me fix my eyes on eternity. Amen.

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Wednesday 30th October 30th Week in Ordinary Time

Which path are you on?

Though we have a God of love, we cannot be sure of our salvation. Just because we have prayed prayers and observed rules it does not guarantee us a sure visa to heaven. The Lord Jesus invites us to enter Heaven by the narrow door. If we look at advertisements and technology, many of them promote an easier and quicker of doing things. The latest fad is driverless cars. The world is

plummeting towards a seemingly easier way to live; just swipe your card and the payment is made.On the other hand the Lord is inviting us to enter by the narrow door. He encourages us to go through some hardship because that tunnel of darkness will prepare us or purify us. Often we overdo the need for miracles and instant healings. God wants us to have a taste of them but we notice that it begins to hap-pen in the lives of those we minister to and lesser in our own lives. The reason why the Lord Jesus fails to recognise us when we call out Lord, Lord, is because we would have failed to have recognised him in the poor, hungry, abandoned, jailed and less privileged. We are not only called to live a life of prayer but also of action. We need to go through some degree of difficulty in our striving for heaven. The advertising world has moved towards a 360 degree approach when shaping a campaign. Similarly, our spiritual effort has to be a 360 degree or an all-round approach towards the kingdom. It should never be self-centered but other-centered.

As we begin to live such a life, we realise that we cannot be the people God wants us to be and Romans 8 tells us that the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought. One key to accelerate our spiritual life is to pray in the spirit. The word tell us that the Spirit intercedes for us, without words, as if with groans. And he, who sees inner secrets, knows the desires of the Spirit, for he asks for the holy ones, what is pleasing to God. Today, choose to pray in the Spirit which is also called praying in tongues. As we do that the Lord will hold our hand along the narrow path and open us up to new opportunities to living the fullness of life He has called us to. We will be walking the narrow path with ease.

Romans 8: 26-30Psalm 12: 4-6Luke 13: 22-30

Prayer: Abba Father, in my broken nature I choose the easy path, but with your grace open my heart and actions to choose the narrow path. Amen.

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Thursday 31st October 30th Week in Ordinary Time

The dangerous power of the ego

In today’s first reading, St. Paul tells us of the magnitude of God’s love. He says that nothing and no one can separate us from this unending, unfailing, unlimited and unmerited love. In verse 39, St Paul says, For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] nei-ther the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all

creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A deep reflection reveals that one person is not mentioned. Who is that? It is I. This means God has given us the power to separate ourselves from His love, His will and plans. This shows the power, the dangerous and eternally destructive power that we have. God has created us to do his will because He has a plan for us that, the prophets says is as high as the sky is from the earth. But God has also given us the power to resist or reject His plan and do what we want. We have the freedom to do what the ‘I’ factor or the powerful ego tells us to do. When we do that, we suffer all sorts of conse-quences, physically, mentally and otherwise. If we are enslaved to ourselves, we are like the suicide bombers of Easter Sunday. We destroy ourselves and also destroy others who come into contact or have a relationship with us.

For instance, in St. Matthew’s Gospel 6: 24, we cannot serve both God and Mammon. In this context, we need to ask ourselves some questions regarding money or wealth, power, positions or privileges. Do they give us security, success, prestige or power in life? If the answer is yes to some degree, then, to that degree, we are distant from God and His wonderful will, for our lives. We need to examine our conscience deeply, give the truth of our lives to God and turn around in repentance so that we will do God’s will for His glory and for our joy. Remember that in these same words God says that if we do things for our glory, security and our power, we hate God. As the Lord Jesus says, you cannot love God and mammon if you love one , you will hate the other (Matthew 6: 24)

Romans 8: 31b-39Psalm 108: 21-22, 26-27,

30-31Luke 13: 31-35

Prayer: Abba Father, let us not indulge in ego boosting excerises and pretend it is for your glory. Give us the power to turn away from this hypocrisy. Amen

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