Saturday, June 29, 2013

June 30, 2013

13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

First Reading: 1 Kings 19:16,19-21
   The LORD said to Elijah: "You shall anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah, as prophet to succeed you." Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat, as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen; he was following the twelfth. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him. Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, "Please, let me kiss my father and mother good-bye, and I will follow you." "Go back!" Elijah answered. "Have I done anything to you?" Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them; he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to his people to eat. Then he left and followed Elijah as his attendant.
Second Reading: Galatians 5:1,13-18
   Brothers and sisters, for freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another. I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Gospel Reading: Luke 9:51-62
   When the days for Jesus being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village. As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." To him Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God."

Reflection: Fr. James Theophilus
   He resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem (Lk 9:51). Every Jew was supposed to travel to Jerusalem three times a year. At least once a year they travelled to Jerusalem. This was to fulfill the demands of the law. Jesus and his parents followed this very strictly. (Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover Lk 1:41). Going to Jerusalem was to meet the Lord God.
   Jesus’ decision to go to Jerusalem was not only to fulfill the demands of the rule but also to fulfill the will of the God for him. Will of God for him was to die in the hands of the leaders for the salvation of the people.  Jesus accepted this plan willingly and he exhorted his disciples also to do the same. They should also reach their own Jerusalem which God has prepared for them.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

June 23, 2013

12th Sunday of Ordinary Time

First Reading: Zachariah 12:10-11
   Thus says the LORD: I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition; and they shall look on him whom they have thrust through, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over him as one grieves over a first-born. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem shall be as great as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
Second Reading: Galatians 3:26-29
   Brothers and sisters, through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendant, heirs according to the promise.

Gospel Reading: Luke 9:18-24
   Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'" Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Messiah of God." He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised." Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

Reflection: Fr. James Theophilus
   Life is a gift from God and life is given to live it and live it to the full. Everyone lives it as he believes or as he wishes. Some live it without God or any reference to God. There are others who live it as prophets or forerunners. These live their lives for God and they announce God to others and point out his coming into the world.
   Only one lived his life as a Messiah. He lived it for God and for others. He lived so that others may be redeemed from the evil one. This life of a Messiah can also be lived by humans provided they deny themselves and carry the cross daily. Every disciple is called to live like Jesus that is to live his life for God and deny himself for the sake of the other.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

June 16, 2013

11th Sunday of Ordinary Time

First Reading: 2 Samuel 12:7-10,13
   Nathan said to David: "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king of Israel. I rescued you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your lord's house and your lord's wives for your own. I gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were not enough, I could count up for you still more. Why have you spurned the LORD and done evil in his sight? You have cut down Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you took his wife as your own, and him you killed with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife.'" Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan answered David: "The LORD on his part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die."
Second Reading: Galatians 2:16,19-21
   Brothers and sisters, we who know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

Gospel Reading: Luke 7:36-8:3
   A Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner." Jesus said to him in reply, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. "Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days' wages and the other owed fifty. Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?" Simon said in reply, "The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven." He said to him, "You have judged rightly." Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." The others at table said to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" But he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." Afterward he journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.

Reflection: Fr. Sahaya G Selvam
   Jesus was one of the guests at a feast thrown by the Pharisee, Simon. A woman comes in. She has a bad reputation. It is her presence that forces the attention of Simon on Jesus. (God allows us to be ourselves in his presence). The rituals that she performs on the feet of Jesus are perhaps part of her profession; these were signs of surrender and renunciation.
   The woman has experienced the love of God in Jesus. She stands in need of forgiveness. Jesus utters two sentences to this woman. “Your sins are forgiven” (Lk 7:48). “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Lk 7:50). First is an experience of being forgiven. And the second, the experience of salvation. The sinner woman goes home, renewed with a new lease of life, having experienced God.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

June 9, 2013

10th Sunday of Ordinary Time

First Reading: 1 Kings 17:17-24
   Elijah went to Zarephath of Sidon to the house of a widow. The son of the mistress of the house fell sick, and his sickness grew more severe until he stopped breathing. So she said to Elijah, "Why have you done this to me, O man of God? Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt and to kill my son?" "Give me your son," Elijah said to her. Taking him from her lap, he carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. He called out to the LORD: "O LORD, my God, will you afflict even the widow with whom I am staying by killing her son?" Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times and called out to the LORD: "O LORD, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child." The LORD heard the prayer of Elijah; the life breath returned to the child's body and he revived. Taking the child, Elijah brought him down into the house from the upper room and gave him to his mother. "See!" Elijah said to her, "your son is alive." "Now indeed I know that you you are a man of God," the woman replied to Elijah. "The word of the LORD comes truly from your mouth."
Second Reading: Galatians 1:11-19
   Brothers and sisters, I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it, and progressed in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my race, since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions. But when (God), who from my mother's womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; rather, I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to confer with Kephas and remained with him for fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles, only James the brother of the Lord.

Gospel Reading: Luke 7:11-17
   Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep." He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, "A great prophet has arisen in our midst," and "God has visited his people." This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.

Reflection: Fr. Sahaya G Selvam
   At the gate of the town of Nain, there were two processions crisscrossing each other. One entering the city, led by Jesus, and “accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people.” The second procession was a funeral procession leaving the town. There was a dead man being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. (Jesus also was the only son of a widow).
   The two processions of life and death meet at the gate. The Lord of life cannot let death overtake him. “When the Lord saw the widow he felt sorry for her and said to her, ‘Don’t cry’” (Lk 7:13). Jesus was moved with compassion. The final focus of our reflection is on the fact that the son of the widow was a “young man”.  He had died before time. Jesus offers a second chance to live – to live to the full!

Saturday, June 1, 2013

June 2, 2013

Solemnity of the Holy Body & Blood of Christ

First Reading: Genesis 14:18-20
   In those days, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine, and being a priest of God Most High, he blessed Abram with these words: "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your foes into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
   Brothers and sisters, I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

Gospel Reading: Luke 9:11-17
   Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured. As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, "Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here." He said to them, "Give them some food yourselves." They replied, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people." Now the men there numbered about five thousand. Then he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty." They did so and made them all sit down. Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets.

Reflection: Fr. Sahaya G Selvam
   Today we celebrate one of the two feasts that invite us to meditate on the mystery of the Eucharist. Another one is the Maundy Thursday. On the Maundy Thursday, the reflection on the Eucharist is centred on the Passover meal and the institution of the priesthood. That is also emotionally coloured by the impending passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. The feast of today gives us yet another opportunity to contemplate the mystery of the Eucharist.
   The Eucharistic celebration is the enactment of the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary.  Sure, the Holy Mass is a sacrifice. Now if it is only a sacrifice then the proper place for the priest during the Mass is on the side of the people. He offers the sacrifice together with the people on behalf of the people. The Eucharistic celebration is at once a sacrifice and a meal. (That is why the priest stands on the other side of the altar to create a circular appearance of a meal.) Eucharist is a sacrificial meal.