Ordinary Time Year A

Lev 19:1-2,17-18; Ps. 102(103):1-4,8,10,12-13; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Matt 5:38-48 THE HOLINESS OF MEN’S FOOLS. A mother once told his twelve-yearold son, “Son, I  am so proud of your father. He is a well-known successful farmer, a good husband, and a wonderful father. But it pains me that you are nothing like your father.  You are very lazy and irresponsible. Please my […]

Exo 19:2-6; Ps. 99(100):2-3,5; Rom 5:6-11; Matt 9:36-10:8 The first reading presents us with the formal beginning of what we may call Yahwistic Reverence for the people of Israel.  When the people of Israel were in Egypt, they were totally emersed in the Egyptian life. They were eating Egyptian food, drinking Egyptian water, and of course revering Egyptian god. This is because, apart from that they had not yet the idea of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, under slavery, they had no option but to worship the god of the land in which they were. This aspect of worshipping

Theme: Fear God, Not Man Jer 20:10-13; Ps 68(69):8-10,14,17,33-35; Rom 5:12-15; Matt 10:26-33 The gospel reading of today forms part of the “Mission of the Disciples” which runs from Matt 9:35 to 10:42. At the beginning of his earthly mission, Jesus chose some people who were to stay with him and who became his apostles (Matt 4:18 -22).  From that moment, these disciples kept

2 Kgs 4:8-11,13-16; Ps 88(89):2-3,16-19; Rom 6:3-4,8-11; Matt 10:37-42 THEME: Consolation in the Midst of Rejection Do Not Be Afraid to always Choose God Last Sunday, Jesus is seen warning his newly recruited ‘men-of the-Goodnews’ against possible rejection of men and persecution which they would encounter in their effort to preach and live by the gospel message of Christ. The disciples would have to face persecution

Theme: Getting Rid of the Weed for The Good Wheat to Blossom Every farmer has an experience of the battle between the planted crop and the unwanted weed. For every planted crop, there are tens of weeds that emerge around it, struggling over the land’s space and nutrients with the crop. This weed-challenge affects the growth of the crop. But once the farmer clears off

Zech 9:9-10; Ps 144(145):1-2,8-11,13b-14; Rom 8:9,11-13; Matt 11:25-30 THEME: VICTORY WITHOUT A SWORD In the first reading, Zion and Jerusalem are presented with their king, who comes victorious and triumphant, yet riding, not on a chariot, but on a donkey. He is presented, not as a fierce warrior coming back with his battle-chariot, but as a humble king riding on a donkey, on

Im heutigen Evangelium sricht Jesus von unserer unterschiedlichen gegenüber dem Wort Gottes. Er fragt uns: Wie empfängst du das Wort Gotte? Sind Sie ein guter Bode oder ein schlechter Boden?Eine gute Erde erfüllt zwi wichtige Dinge für ein Saatgut. Das können die Bauern hier bezeugen. Zunächst bereitet sich eine gute Erde auf die Aufnahme des Samens vor.

1 Kgs 19:9,11-13; Ps 84(85):9-14; Rom 9:1-5; Matt 14:22-23 Theme: Be Calm, the Still Voice Comes after the Storm On our way to encounter the Lord The first reading and the gospel present us with two figures who were on their way to meet with the Lord. Elijah was asked by God to come and meet him at Mt. Horeb while Peter was asked by Jesus to walk through the water to

THEME: “NOT WHO YOU ARE, BUT WHAT YOU DO” ISA 56:1,6-7; ROM 11:13-15, 29-32; MATT 15:21-28 WHO AMONG THE TWO IS MY TRUE SON? The readings of today remind me of the story my friend shared with him, regarding his experience with his son and his son’s friend. This my friend had just a son before his wife died. Because his wife died when his son was still very

Isa 22:19-23; Psa 137(138):1-3,6,8; Rom 11:33-36; Matt 16:13-20 THEME: WHAT THEY SAY VERSUS WHAT I SAY WHO DO PEOPLE SAY THAT THE SON OF MAN IS? Often, we hear such things like: “Do not give attention to what people say about you”, “It does not matter what people think I am”, etc. By asking his disciples such a question, Jesus shows that he expected his disciples to know what other

Eze 33:7-9; Ps 94(95):1-2,6-9; Rom 13:8-10; Matt 18:15-20 Theme: En Route to Peace-Making Steps to Peace-Making Chapter 18 of Matthew’s gospel, from which our gospel reading today is taken, is a continuation of the community life teaching which Jesus already started in Matt 13:54. In these passages, we see Jesus preparing his disciples on how to live in a community which he

Eccl 27:30-28:9; Psa 102(103):1-4, 9-12; Rom 14:7-9; Matt 18:21-35 Theme: FORGIVENESS WITHOUT COUNTS Last Sunday, Jesus gave us a detailed teaching on the importance of making every effort to make peace with one another. The three processes presented by Jesus aim at Forgiveness and Reconciliation. Our Gospel reading today continues the discussion on forgiveness. After the disciples had listened

Ezek 18:25-28; Ps 24(25):4-9; Phil 2:1-11; Matt 21:28-32 Theme: Faith without Commitment A Man Has Two Children… In the gospel, Jesus tells a parable with which he confronts the attitude of the chief priests and the scribes who present themselves as the real children of God, but in fact, they are far from it. “A man has two children”, so begins the parable. At

Isa 5:1-7; Psa 80:9,12-16,19-20; Phil 4:6-9; Matt 21:33-43 Theme: What God Orders Versus What He Gets The first reading and the gospel of today speak of ‘vineyard’ of the Lord. In the first reading, Israel and Judah are themselves the vineyard of the Lord, the vineyard God planted, nurtured and protected, looking forward for the wonderful grapes it would bear. But in the gospel, Israel and Judah are

Isa 25:6-10; Psa 23; Phil 4:12-14,19-20; Matt 22:1-14 THEME: THE FEAST IS FREE BUT THE GARMENT IS NOT Dearest friends, the readings of today, especially the first and the third readings, present to us, the theme of an invitation to a wedding feast, organized and prepared by the Lord himself. In the first reading, from the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord makes a promise of this

Isa 45:1,4-6; Psa 96:1,3-5,7-10; 1 Thess 1:1-5; Matt 22:15-21 Theme: You’ve Got to Choose Dearest friends, today the gospel reading presents us with one of the most abused, misinterpreted and misused passages in the gospel. It is the so-called “Give to Ceasar what belongs to Ceasar, and to God what belongs to God”. In our world today, so many people have based

Ex 22:20-26; Psa 18:2-4,47,51; 1 Thess 1:5-10; Matt 22:34-40 Theme: LOVE AND DO WHATEVER YOU WANT Dearest friends, today’s readings invite us to reflect on the theme of LOVE. In the Gospel, Jesus summarizes all the commandments into one: LOVE. In the first reading, we see God explaining to the people of Israel how this love of the neighbor must be extended even to

Wis 6:12-16; Psa 62:2-8; 1 Thess 4:13-18; Matt 25:1-13 Theme: Even when You sleep, Keep Your Oil Ready Beloved in Christ, we are still in the month of November, the month in which we not only pray in a special way for the dead, but also remind ourselves of the importance of being always ready for our own death. Today, we reflect on the following