walk in the spirit nov. 2015

"O Lord, to Receive a Touch of Your Love"

1

2z zY =o aOd; auhdfKkS" uu Tnjykafi ag jk aokd

kui aldr lrñ'ud l< hq; = l =ula±h s ug wK l< uekj Z Z


ISSN 1391-5967

Publication:Fr. Siri Oscar Abayaratne

Kithu Dana Pubuduwa

WALK IN THE SPIRIT

November 2015 Volume 11 Issue 15

"O Lord to receive a touch of Your Love"


3

SHARING ON PRAYER

November 2015

Fr. Siri Oscar Abayaratne

“We shall behold the glory ofthe Lord.”

What is the Glory of the Lord?What is the Glory of Christ?

It is fruit of His drinking from the fount ofLove. It is the manifestation of love’s full-ness : like the myriad rays of sheer beautythat emanate from a ‘gem’ bathed in light.One ray that would attract my attention is –Vulnerability of the Love possessed.

Jesus was ‘vulnerable’ because of Love.




Sunday 1st November 2015 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time All Saints

Revelation: 7/2-4, 9-14Psalm:24/1-61 John: 3/1-3Matthew:5/1-12

Introduction

In the Apostles Creed we state that:‘we believe in the communion ofsaints’. Whom would you call a saint?It is recorded that there are over 10,000persons who have been canonized ornamed as saints in the CatholicChurch. The Church sees in thesesaints nothing more than friends andservants of God whose holy lives havemade them worthy of His special love.We may like to broaden the conceptof saints to include all those who arein heaven. Because there are such amultitude of those who have leadsaintly lives pleasing to God but theyhave not been fortunate enough tograb any publicity. God has surely can-onized more saints than we could imag-ine. Today we celebrate the lives theylived here on earth and their presentlife before the heavenly Father in com-munion with all of us here on earth.

Preparing us for this wonderfulcelebration is The Entrance Antiphon:

‘Let us rejoice in the Lord andkeep a festival in honor of all thesaints. Let us join with the angelsin joyful praise to the Son ofGod.’

The First Proclamation

Then I saw another angel come upfrom the East, holding the seal of theliving God He cried out in a loud voiceto the four angels who were givenpower to damage the land and the sea,

“Do not damage the land or the sea orthe trees until we put the seal on theforeheads of the servants of our God.”I heard the number of those who hadbeen marked with the seal, one hun-dred and forty-four thousand markedfrom every tribe of the Israelites. Afterthis I had a vision of a great multitude,which no one could count, from everynation, race, people, and tongue. Theystood before the throne and before theLamb, wearing white robes and hold-ing palm branches in their hands. Theycried out in a loud voice: “Salvationcomes from our God, who is seated onthe throne, and from the Lamb.’” Allthe angels stood around the throneand around the elders and the four liv-ing creatures. They prostrated them-selves before the throne, worshipedGod and exclaimed: “Amen! Blessingand glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,honor, power and might be to our Godforever and ever. Amen” Then one ofthe elders spoke up and said to me,“Who are these wearing white robes,and where did they come from?” I saidto him, “My lord, you are the one whoknows.” He said to me, “These are theones who have survived the time ofgreat distress; they have washed theirrobes and made them white in theblood of the Lamb.

Prayerful Awareness

The game of cricket has been de-scribed by George Bernard Shaw as22 flannelled fools being watched by22,000 flannelled fools. A person whois not a cricket fan would see the gameof cricket and those who watch it ascrazy. But for those taking part in theevent or are willing spectators, it is the


5

essence of life itself. In the same veinthe scene described in the first procla-

mation where a multitudestanding before thethrone of God dressed inwhite and singing the

praises of God can also be consideredcrazy by some people. But this hugethrong before God on His throne wasexpressing their utmost happiness,glorifying, thanking, honoring andpraising God. I would venture to saythat they had found the secret that St.Augustine expressed in the followingwords; ‘My soul was made for thee OGod it will not rest until it rests inthee.’

To be in the presence of the eter-nal Triune God Who Is love is happi-ness in its fullness. That is paradise,ecstasy, eternal bliss!!!

The Gospel ProclamationWhen he saw the crowds, he went

up the mountain, and after he had satdown, his disciples came to him. Hebegan to teach them, saying; “Blessedare the poor in spirit, for theirs is thekingdom of heaven. Blessed are theywho mourn, for they will be comforted.Blessed are the meek, for they willinherit the land. Blessed are they whohunger and thirst for righteousness,for they will be satisfied. Blessed arethe merciful, for they will be shownmercy. Blessed are the clean of heart,for they will see God. Blessed are thepeacemakers, for they will be calledChildren of God. Blessed are they whoare persecuted for the sake of righ-teousness, for theirs is the kingdomof heaven. Blessed are you when theyinsult you and persecute you and ut-ter every kind of evil against you(falsely) because of me. Rejoice andbe glad, for your reward will be great

in heaven. Thus they persecuted theprophets who were before you.

Gaze at JesusThe ultimate in happiness is to be

found in the eternal experience of thepresence of God. If we acknowledgethis statement, then what is it thatstands in the way of our reaching thisobjective? The short answer is any-thing and everything that would giveus temporary satisfaction. Jesus inproclaiming the Beatitudes tells us todiscover true blessedness in beingunsatisfied by worldly standards sothat our thirst for God remains unblem-ished and ever renewed.

The Second Proclamation

See what love the Father has be-stowed on us that we may be called thechildren of God. Yet so we are. Thereason the world does not know us isthat it did not know him. Beloved, weare God’s children now; what we shallbe has not yet been revealed. We doknow that when it is revealed we shallbe like him, for we shall see him as heis. Everyone who has this hope basedon him makes himself pure, as he ispure.

Our sonship

The filial relationship with God theFather and the fraternal relationshipwith God the Son and the experienceof the indwelling presence of God theHoly Spirit is our destiny. This des-tiny is already given and is waiting tobe discovered by us who need to re-pent - turn around in order to ‘see’ it.BELOVED WE ARE CHILDREN NOW.Praise the Lord!

Prayer Starter

Lord Holy Spirit! Give us thegrace to see ourselves for who we trulyare in praise and thanksgiving. .....




Monday 2nd November 2015 All Souls

Isaiah: 25/6-9Psalm:23/1-6Romans: 5/5-11John: 6/37-40

The First ProclamationOn this mountain, for all peoples,

Yahweh Sabaoth is preparing a ban-quet of rich food, a banquet of finewines, of succulent food, of well-strained wines. On this mountain, hehas destroyed the veil which used toveil all peoples, the pall enveloping allnations; he has destroyed death forever. Lord Yahweh has wiped away thetears from every cheek; he has takenhis people's shame away everywhereon earth, for Yahweh has spoken. Andon that day, it will be said, 'Look, thisis our God, in him we put our hopethat he should save us, this is Yahweh,we put our hope in him. Let us exultand rejoice since he has saved us.'

Fix your gaze on JesusLet us exult and rejoice since He

has saved us...! Dearest Lord, Yoursis a done deed; proof is in the incarna-tion of the Christ in human form asJesus, His living a very ordinary lifeunder deprived circumstances in theextraordinary manner of experiencingthe love of the Creator in every mo-ment, and His loving response to the'Abba' in loving humanity's entiregamut till His death on the cross con-veying the simple message that the'Creator loves and cherishes you, re-gardless of your present state/condi-tion'; His life is proof positive that hu-manity in it's fallen state is yet able toexperience and stay in a state of expe-riential love!

This is God's dream for us; S/Hisplan is no other. The onus however is

on us to now believe this, own up tothis, and to experientially taste/live it.The journey before us is to awaken tothe liberty and the healing, the tastingof the bounty we 're been given in allof it's aspects! It is ours for the taking,were we to work up the courage to claimit! And, the wonder is that this cour-age too is gifted us, were we to chooseso!

Let us liken this to a big fat de-posit our big brother has made to ouraccount at the bank. To enjoy the ben-efits of this gift given us, firstly wehave to accept (believe in) the depositmade. Secondly, we have to take thesteps necessary to claim it. So we haveto get dressed and go to the Bank orATM to draw-upon it. Nowadays, youcould do this on-line too!

The Holy Spirit, the facilitatorstands ready to teach us how to ac-cess God's love and bounty right now,right here. So eat-up the Living Word;simply change our thinking and affirmthese scriptures to ourselves; let itbecome our mantra for today... let Jesus'assurance, "It is my Father's will thatwhoever sees the Son and believes inhim should have eternal life, and thatI should raise that person up on thelast day" echo and re-echo in ourhearts today...!

Prayer StarterThank You Lord for Your constant

Love and Care. It is indeed liberat-ing to know that to experience thislove, all we've got to do is believe,and turn from our erroneousthinking...back to Your ways, theways You want us to think and be-lieve. All grace is ready to flowthrough once this simple turn ismade...


7

Tuesday 3rd November 2015 St. Martin de Porres, Religious

Romans: 12/5-16 Psalm:131/1-3 Luke:14/15-24

The Gospel ProclamationOne of the dinner guests, on hear-

ing this, said to him, 'Blessed is any-one who will eat bread in the kingdomof God!" Then Jesus said to him,"Someone gave a great dinner and in-vited many. At the time for the dinnerhe sent his slave to say to those whohad been invited, 'Come, for every-thing is ready now.' But they all alikebegan to make excuses. The first saidto him, 'I have bought a piece of land;and I must go out and see it; pleaseaccept my regrets.' Another said, 'Ihave bought five yoke of oxen, and Iam going to try them out, please ac-cept my regrets.' Another said, 'I havejust been married, and therefore I can-not come.' So the slave returned andreported this to his master. Then theowner of the house became angry andsaid to his slave, 'Go out at once intothe streets and lanes of the town andbring in the poor, the crippled, theblind, and the lame. And the slave said,'Sir, what you ordered has been done,and there is still room.' Then the mas-ter said to the slave, 'Go out into theroads and lanes, and compel people tocome in, so that my house may befilled. For I tell you, none of those whowere invited will taste my dinner.'"

Prayerful AwarenessIn Jesus' story, many people

turned down the invitation becausethe timing was inconvenient. We toodo the same, and our excuses may lookreasonable - work, duties, family re-sponsibilities, financial needs. Never-theless GOD's INVITATION is the

MOST IMPORTANT in our lives.Jesus reminds us that the TIME willcome when God will offer the invita-tion to OTHERS. Then it would beTOO LATE to get into the banquet.

In Jesus' day it was customary tosend TWO invitations to a party - thefirst, to announce the event. The sec-ond to tell the guests that EVERY-THING was READY. Here, the guestsinsulted the host by making excusesto the second invitation.

In Israel's history, God's first invi-tation came from MOSES and theprophets, the second came from God'sSon. the religious leaders accepted theFIRST invitation. They believed thatGod had called them to be HISPEOPLE. But they insulted God by re-fusing to accept HIS SON. So God sentHis Son to the WHOLE WORLD ofneedy people.

We see and read Jesus' wordsagainst seeking STATUS and infavour of hard work and even suffer-ing. Let us not lose sight of the endresult of all our humility and self-sac-rifice. A JOYOUS BANQUET WITHOUR LORD.

God never asks us to give up some-thing good, unless God PLANS to re-place it with something EVEN BET-TER. Jesus is not calling us to join Himin a LABOR Camp but in a FEAST.The WEDDING SUPPER OF THELAMB, when God and His belovedChurch will be joined forever.

Prayer StarterFather in heaven thank You for

the invitation to the banquet. For thegreat gift of Your Son, who promisedto prepare a place for us. Thank YouJesus, that You are preparing us forthat place.




Wednesday 4th November 2015 St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop

Romans: 13/8-10 Psalm: 112/1-2, 4-5, 9 Luke: 14/25-33

The First ProclamationOwe no one anything, except to love

one another; for the one who loves an-other has fulfilled the law. The com-mandments, 'You shall not commitadultery; You shall not murder; Youshall not steal; You shall not covet";and any other commandment, aresummed up in this word, "love yourneighbor as yourself.' Love does nowrong to a neighbor, therefore, loveis the fulfilling of the law.

The Gospel Proclamation

Now large crowds were travellingwith him, and he turned and said tothem, "Whoever comes to me and doesnot hate father and mother, wife andchildren, brothers and sisters; yes,and even life itself, cannot be my dis-ciple. Whoever does not carry thecross and follow me cannot be my dis-ciple. For which of you, intending tobuild a tower, does not first sit downand estimate the cost, to see whetherhe has enough to complete it? Other-wise, when he has laid a foundationand is not able to finish, all who see itwill begin to ridicule him, saying,'This fellow began to build and wasnot able to finish.' Or what king, go-ing out to wage war against anotherking, will not sit down first and con-sider whether he is able with ten thou-sand to oppose the one who comesagainst him with twenty thousand? Ifhe cannot, then, while the other is stillfar away, he sends a delegation andasks for the terms of peace. So there-fore, none of you can become my dis-

ciple if you do not give up all your pos-sessions.

Gaze at Jesus

Lord Jesus, thank You for Yourwords. Your words challenge me toget my priorities correct. Lord I knowby Your mercy, that if I am attached toanything, it can prevent my walk withYou. The voice that emanates from myattachment can drown the still smallvoice of the Holy Spirit. So help me; Iwant to be Your disciple.

Prayerful AwarenessThe Sinhala word for disciple is re-

vealing! It is SHRAVAKAYA. i.e. Onewho listens! To listen, we must trainourselves to be still at least once a day.This time we call "My Hour" in theKithu Dana Pubuduwa. God's wordsays, "Be still and know that I amGod!" It is time for all peoples, for alltime; until time itself comes to an end.

I would humbly suggest that youset aside five minutes to listen to thesounds of the environment right now.Do you hear the birds chirping? Doyou hear the sound of the traffic? Doyou hear human voices? Can you per-ceive the sound within the sound? BESITLL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Gaze at my sonshipLord, as I engage in Lexio Divina

on today's Gospel proclamation, I findthat my greatest attachment is to myown sinful self!

In Your mercy, help me to listen toYou.

Prayer StarterLord, Have mercy on me a sinner

and help me to be Your disciple.


9

Thursday 5th November 2015

Romans: 14/7-12 Psalm: 27/1, 4, 13-14 Luke: 15/1-10Introduction

The underlying theme in today’s Proc-lamations is that we belong to the Lordirrespective of the circumstances we findourselves in, alive or dead, sinful or other-wise, and hence none of us has the right tojudge others and consider them inferior inany manner!

First ProclamationFor none of us lives for himself and

none of us dies for himself; while we arealive, we are living for the Lord, and whenwe die, we die for the Lord: and so, alive ordead, we belong to the Lord. It was for thispurpose that Christ both died and came tolife again: so that he might be Lord of boththe dead and the living. Why, then, doesone of you make himself judge over hisbrother, and why does another among youdespise his brother? All of us will have tostand in front of the judgement-seat of God:as scripture says: ‘By my own life saysthe Lord, every knee shall bow beforeme, every tongue shall give glory toGod.’ It is to God, then, that each of uswill have to give an account of himself.

Gospel ProclamationThe tax collectors and sinners, how-

ever, were all crowding round to listen toHim, and the Pharisees and scribes com-plained saying, ‘This man welcomes sin-ners and eats with them.’ So He told themthis parable: ‘Which one of you with ahundred sheep, if he lost one, would fail toleave the ninety-nine in the desert and goafter the missing one till he found it? Andwhen he found it, would he not joyfullytake it on his shoulders and then, when hegot home, call together his friends andneighbours, saying to them, “Rejoice withme, I have found my sheep that was lost.”In the same way, I tell you, there will bemore rejoicing in heaven over one sinner

repenting than over ninety-nine uprightpeople who have no need of repentance.‘Or again, what woman with ten drachmaswould not, if she lost one, light a lamp andsweep out the house and search thoroughlytill she found it? And then, when she hadfound it, call together her friends andneighbours, saying to them, “Rejoice withme, I have found the drachma I lost.” Inthe same way, I tell you, there is rejoicingamong the angels of God over one repen-tant sinner.’

Prayerful AwarenessIn today’s Gospel Proclamation our

Lord Jesus Christ describes (using parablesof a lost sheep and a lost coin) to whatlengths He will go to, in search of us sin-ners until we repent and get back in Hisbeloved embrace! and the joy felt in heavenover one redeemed sinner! Oh what a friendwe have in Jesus! who let go of all heav-enly glory to be born a slave and face im-mense pain and an agonising death on thecross (Philippians 2: 6-8) to lay down Hislife as atonement for mankind’s sin in or-der to restore our Father / son relationshipwith Almighty God, our Abba Father, sothat whosoever believeth in this truth cannow claim His Holy Spirit to be anointedas a child of Almighty God! This awe-some unbelievable gift is ours not throughany of our own effort, but purely by God’sgrace and our faith in His mercy and good-ness! Amen! Alleluia!

Song of PraiseYahweh is my light and my salvation,

whom should I fear? Yahweh is the for-tress of my life, whom should I dread?

One thing I ask of Yahweh, one thing Iseek: to dwell in Yahweh’s house all thedays of my life, to enjoy the sweetness ofYahweh, to seek out his temple.

This I believe: I shall see the goodnessof Yahweh, in the land of the living.

Put your hope in Yahweh, be strong,let your heart be bold, put your hope inYahweh. (Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14).




Friday 6th November 2015

Romans:15/14-21 Psalm:98/1-4 Luke: 16/1-8

The First ProclamationI myself feel confident about you,

my brothers and sisters, that you your-selves are full of goodness, filled withall knowledge and able to instruct oneanother. .... In Christ Jesus, then, I havereason to boast of my work for God. ForI will not venture to speak of anythingexcept what Christ has accomplished,through me to win obedience from theGentiles, ... Thus I make it my ambi-tion to proclaim the good news notwhere Christ has already been named,so that I do not build on someone else'sfoundation, but as it is written, "Thosewho have never been told of him shallsee, and those who have never heard ofhim shall understand."

The Gospel ProclamationThen Jesus said to the disciples,

"There was a rich man who had a man-ager, and charges were brought to himthat this man was squandering his prop-erty. So he summoned him and said tohim, "What is this that I hear aboutyou? Give me an accounting of yourmanagement, because you cannot bemy manager any longer." Then themanager said to himself, 'What will Ido, now that my master is taking theposition away from me?.... So, summon-ing his master's debtors one by one, heasked the first, 'How much do you owemy master?' He answered, 'A hundredjugs of olive oil.' He said to him, 'Takeyour bill, sit down quickly, and make itfifty.' Then he asked another, 'and howmuch do you owe?' He replied, 'A hun-dred containers of wheat.' He said tohim, 'Take your bill and make it eighty.'And his master commended the dishon-est manager because he had actedshrewdly, for the children of this age

are more shrewd in dealing with theirown generation than are the childrenof light.

Prayerful AwarenessThe discourse describes the conduct

of a steward - someone who acts on behalfof a master, in the business of the master.Therefore, this scripture passage gives in-sight, especially to someone, who is tak-ing a leadership role in the church.

In this discourse, Jesus tries to showthe dishonesty of the steward, who triedto take advantage of his position, for hisown personal benefit. Similarly, in today'scontext, those who are entrusted with lead-ership in the church/association, may betempted to act likewise - to obtain, maybe monetary benefits, to become an influ-ential person, to obtain fame, popularity,for himself, through manipulation.

Jesus, in this parable, also commendsthe dishonest steward (vs. 8). The stew-ard acted prudently, in order to secure hisfuture well-being in this world. But, whatthis implies is, that believers need to work,not to secure their immediate future in thisworld, but the everlasting future in the here-after.

The leadership role one plays oughtto be a stepping stone for his own spiri-tual development, through which, his fu-ture in the hereafter will be secured. Jesussaid, "If you are my disciple, die to yourself daily, take up your cross and followme." Similarly, one who takes up a leader-ship role in the church, is called to die toself - give up selfishness, bear up threatsto his reputation, to sacrifice his fame andstatus, to sacrifice his leisure, be subjectedto even unreasonable accusations etc. Themerits thus accrued, will go to ensure asecure future, in the life hereafter.

Prayer StarterSing a new song to the Lord, who has

done marvelous deeds, whose right handand holy arm, have won the victory(Ps.98:1) ...)


11

Saturday 7th November 2015 St. Willibrord

Romans: 16/3-9, 16, 22-27Psalm:145/2-5, 10-11Luke: 16/9-15

St. WillibrordHe was born in 658 A.D. He was a

Benedictine monk and had his early edu-cation at the Abbey of Ripon near York.He was commissioned to the mission ofFrisia. When he visited Rome in 692 hereceived apostolic authorization for hismissionary labours. On his second visit toRome he was consecrated Archbishop ofthe Friscians and was given the name Clem-ent - meaning 'merciful'. He was forced intoexile by Radbod in 716 but he came backwhen Radbod died in 719. Died: Novem-ber 07, 739.

The Gospel ProclamationAnd I tell you, make friends for

yourselves by means of dishonestwealth so that when it is gone, theymay welcome you into the eternalhomes.

"Whoever is faithful in a very littleis faithful also in much; and whoeveris dishonest in a very little is dishonestalso in much. ... No slave can serve twomasters; for a slave will either hate theone and love the other, or be devoted tothe one and despise the other. You can-not serve God and wealth. ....

Prayerful AwarenessSmall things, faithfulness in small

things do count. Our Lord engaged in smallthings like taking finished products of Hisfoster father to the customers, fetchingwater from the well for His mother etc.Our sanctification lies in small things. Forexample - to obey or observe a certain pointof law, be true to one's word or promises,refrain from being inconvenient to othersetc. God looks not at the work or theamount of work done but at our motive indoing them. Big or great things - lump sums

of money donated for charity or to thechurch, sponsoring public welfare workare o.k. but if done for vain glory, one re-ceives no reward. The love one puts intothese actions determines the merit. Wealthcan be used to be faithful to God. Themain thing is not to give it the place oneshould give to God in life. It is either Godor money. No two masters. We've got tobe vigilant and examine our conscience regu-larly. If we possess ill-gotten money wecan convert that as means of salvation -how? - through charity. Take the exampleof Zacheus. (Luke 19:1-10).

"A theory that makes profit the exclu-sive norm and ultimate end of economicactivity is morally unacceptable. The dis-ordered desire for money cannot but pro-duce perverse effects. It is one of the causesof the many conflicts which disturb thesocial order. A system that subordinatesthe basic rights of individuals and ofgroups to the collective organisation of pro-duction is contrary to human dignity. Ev-ery practice that reduces persons to noth-ing more than a means of profit enslavesman, leads to idolizing money and con-tributes to the spread of atheism. "Youcannot serve God and mammon."(C.C.C.2424)

In the first proclamation we have St.Paul's greetings to various people and heputs the finishing touches to the letter witha doxology which summarizes the mainpoints. The acquaintances he names in hisletter number over twenty. Even our Lordwas at the receiving end of personal minis-trations, substances and time of devoutand grateful women. 'I preach about JesusChrist". (Romans 16:25) Do we make useof the opportunities we have to preachJesus Christ? We can use words and deedsto achieve this goal. Good and exemplarydeeds preach without preaching.

Prayer StarterHelp us to grab opportunities avail-

able to take Your word to others. Amen.




Sunday 8th November 2015 Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

1 Kings; 17/10-16 Psalm:146/6-10 Hebrews: 9/24-28 Mark: 12/38-44 or 12/41-44

There is in every person an in-ner thirst to receive and give lovewhich manifests itself in the life ofevery man and woman from birthto death. The word we celebrateduring the Eucharist of today is onthe giving aspect in the life of thefollowers of Jesus. He/She has togive, give and give.

Let us begin with the Gospel… ‘Beware of the scribes who

like to walk about in long robes,to be greeted obsequiously in themarket squares, to take the frontseats in the synagogues and theplaces of honour at banquets;these are the men who swallowthe property of widows, whilemaking a show of lengthyprayers. The more severe will bethe sentence they receive.’

Jesus does not seem to be a per-son who spends time in preparingfor His next teaching. Events of Hisdaily life, a very human life, speakthe Abba’s mind to Him. He has gotenough material to keep Him going,to teach, to preach and get follow-ers.

He is seated opposite the trea-sury and He sees the Scribes mak-ing a show of lengthy prayers andmaking big contributions to the trea-sury. He spots the widow with hermeager possession. He must havewatched her with very keen eyes so

that He could conclude with easethat she has put in everything thatshe possessed, all that she had tolive on. The power of the Abba’slove within is kindled. It is in thislove that His eye pierces to the in-side of the Scribes’ movements,even regarding their religious act ofmaking an offering in the Temple.Our minds and hearts should go tothe mind and heart of Jesus whotakes in all that happens around Himand gives powerful expression to itin words that challenge the world’svalue system of any period in thehistory of man, “Blessed are thepoor.”

Who on earth one could ask one-self or others, could see blessednessin deprivation, poverty, hunger,thirst. He could speak so blandly ofthe blessedness of the poor, bless-edness of those who go hungry,blessedness of those who are per-secuted, blessedness of peace-mak-ers (not the superficial peace thatwe are now getting accustomed tospeak very glibly). One who viewsthe passing scene in the happeningsof any period of time would see thateveryone is out to overcome thisstate of affairs in some way or theother and we see the pathetic stateof people who in their various at-tempts to conquer poverty, hungerand division would be giving in tothe 3 P’s – Power, Possession andPrestige.

We move on to the first reading.Elijah, the prophet went off to

Sidon. And when he reached the citygate, there was a widow gatheringsticks; addressing her he said:


13

‘Please bring a little water in a ves-sel for me to drink’. She was set-

ting off to bring it whenhe called after her,‘Please’ he said ‘bringme a scrap of bread inyour hand’. ‘As the

Lord your God lives’ she replied, ‘Ihave no baked bread, but only ahandful of meal in a jar and a littleoil in a jug; I am just gathering astick or two to go and prepare thisfor myself and my son to eat andthen we shall die.’ …

We could see Elijah with little orno concern for the needs of the poorwidow and her son makes a demandthat she gives all that she has. How-ever the God from above would seeto it that the one who gives selflesslydoes not go empty handed. For thusthe Lord speaks, the God of Israel;“Jar of meal shall not be spent,jug of oil shall not be emptied,before the day when the Lordsends rain on the face of theearth”

We’ve got to take the Lord seri-ously. We could see what demandsJesus makes of His followers. Nowonder that He was able to tell Hisdisciples, “Go, sell all that youhave, give it to the poor and comefollow me.” That may be the pricethat we’ve got to pay to enjoy thepeace that comes from above and itis not an achievement of human en-deavour.

The Second Reading:Hebrews 9/24-28

It is not as though Christ had en-tered a man-made sanctuary whichwas only modeled on the real one,but it was heaven itself, so that hecould appear in the actual presence

of God on our behalf. And he doesnot have to offer himself again andagain like the high priest going intothe sanctuary year after year withthe blood that is not his own, or elsehe would have had to suffer overand over again since the world be-gan. Instead of that, he has madehis appearance once and for all ….To do away with sin by sacrificinghimself …..

Here in the second reading theHoly Spirit is leading us to take agood look at Jesus. He is a Giverpar excellence. He gives Himselftotally not because we are good, notbecause we have made a show ofour generosity but despite all theweaknesses of man. He gives him-self fully, totally, so that sinnerscould find real meaning in their lives.

The Spirit of the Lord is leadingus to come to a deep understandingof what priesthood is all about. Weare told that it is not only in the spiri-tual gift of ordination to the minis-terial priesthood but in and throughour Baptism we all receive an ordi-nation to the priesthood and thatwould mean giving all that we pos-sess, even the little that we possess,like the widow in the Gospel withonly faith that everything is in thehands of the Lord above.

Let us pray:Almighty Father, strong is Your

justice and great is Your mercy. Pro-tect us in the burdens and challengesof life. Shield our minds from thedistortion of pride and enfold ourdesire with the beauty of truth. Helpus to become more aware of Yourliving design so that we may morewillingly give our lives in service toall.




Monday 9th November 2015 The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Ezekiel: 47/1-12 or1 Corinthians: 3/9-17Psalm:46/2-3, 5-6, 8-9John: 2/13-22

The First ProclamationHe brought me back to the en-

trance of the Temple, where a streamflowed eastwards from under theTemple threshold, for the Temple facedeast. The water flowed from under theright side of the Temple, south of thealtar. He took me out by the north gateand led me right round outside as faras the outer east gate where the waterflowed out on the right-hand side....He said, 'This water flows east downto the Arabah and to the sea; and flow-ing into the sea it makes its waterswholesome. Wherever the river flows,all living creatures teeming in it willlive. Fish will be very plentiful, forwherever the water goes it bringshealth, and life teems wherever theriver flows... Along the river, on ei-ther bank, will grow every kind of fruittree with leaves that never wither andfruit that never fails; they will bearnew fruit every month, because thiswater comes from the sanctuary. Andtheir fruit will be good to eat and theleaves medicinal.'

Fix your gaze on JesusLord, You are Good indeed.... ev-

erything that You touch becomesblessed and uplifting...

It would be correct to liken theTemple depicted herein to be the abodeof the Source of All Goodness ... theblessings flowing out there-from jour-neying far and wide, beneficial to alllife which thrive and blossom forth inthe surroundings.

The Lord goes another step be-yond too. Not only is the Lord Good-

ness itself, S/He also wants us to con-sciously become aware of the good-ness we're bestowed with, standing talland bountiful there-from. With glad-ness and gratefulness springing forthfrom our hearts, we are to stay in S/His presence and journey towards ourcomplete health and integration. Thatthere is a journey towards perfectionis evident from the clue that the leavesare medicinal, meaning that there aresystemic imbalances needing correc-tion!

And this is exactly what Jesus doesin today's scripture when He visits thetemple in Jerusalem; humanity, soprone to going astray, becoming dif-fused in attention and orientation,mired in selfish wants and desires,kneeling before the flesh, the world,and the devil to find succour and sat-isfaction, pollute the very place we liveat. We desecrate the temple of ourbodies, our families, our places of wor-ship, our communities, and our nationswith idols of many kinds, worshippingthe Mammon! Most of the time we aredriven by our egoistic agendas, notentering in to our true worth andnobleness.

Such a pity, since this is clearly notthe intent of our Creator for us.

But, when we choose to go 'ourown ways', such is what we reap. Canwe get back to our orientation that weare in a friendly creation? That thiscreation of our 'Loving Father' is goodfor us? That we are called to be boun-tiful and blessed!

Prayer StarterThank You Lord for reminding us

that we exist in a friendly and lovingenvironment! That we are called uponto experience a drop of Your love ona continuous basis; an eternal mo-ment of being in love...


15

Wisdom: 2/23-3/9 Psalm: 34/1-2, 15-18 Luke: 17/7-10

Tuesday 10th November 2015 St. Leo the Great, Pope & Doctor

The First ProclamationFor God created us for incorrup-

tion, and made us in the image of hisown eternity, but through the devil’senvy death entered the world, and thosewho belong to his company experienceit.

But the souls of the righteous arein the hand of God, and no tormentwill ever touch them. .....

The Gospel ProclamationWho among you would say to your

slave who has just came in from plow-ing or tending sheep in the field,‘Come here at once and take yourplace at the table’? Would you notrather say to him, ‘Prepare supper forme, put on your apron and serve mewhile I eat and drink; later you mayeat and drink’? Do you thank the slavefor doing what was commanded? Soyou also, when you have done all thatyou were ordered to do, say, ‘We areworthless slaves; we have done onlywhat we ought to have done!’”

Prayerful AwarenessWe have been entrusted with a

great vocation; To build the Kingdomof God. Jesus really came to earth forthis purpose. That was God’s maindesire. Thus is the love of God for thewhole of mankind.

Today we have to pause and thinkwhether we are discharging our du-ties, just because God had entrustedthem to us or because of the love whichwells up in our heart.

As stated in the first proclamation,God made man to His own image and

likeness. The image and likeness ofGod, is Love. God calls us to act withlove. It is not only discharging one’sduty that is expected of us, but also toact with love. Love should be foremostin all our works. Let us pray to the Lordto make us aware and conscious ofHis calling.

The verses 7-10 tells us that wecan never put God in our debt and cannever have any claim on Him. Whenwe have done our best, we have doneonly our duty; and a man who hasdone his duty has done only what inany event, he would be compelled todo. It may be possible to satisfy theclaims of law; but every lover knowsthat nothing can ever satisfy the claimof love.

Jesus accepted and implementedHis mission with sheer internal free-dom. All what was entrusted by Godto Him, He performed without any re-ward. In the same way, Jesus wantsHis followers to perform their dutieswithout any reward from God. All whatJesus had said and done on earth wastotally in thanksgiving to God His Fa-ther. In moments of silence Jesussought His Father’s presence and thenHe performed all that was expected ofHim. Consequently God’s love flowedout to all corners of the earth givingsolace to the entire world. It is thisJesus Who calls us to follow Him.Jesus is The Way.

Prayer StarterWe thank You Father, for the vo-

cation You have gifted us to serve Youand one another willingly and lov-ingly. Help us Lord, let us be gratefulservants, working for the Kingdom ofGod, planting the seed of the Word,harvesting bread for all, and makingsure that the communities of the worldare gathered as one. Amen.




Wednesday 11th November 2015 St. Martin of Tours, Bishop

Wisdom: 6/1-11 Psalm: 82/3-4, 6-7 Luke: 17/11-19

The Gospel ProclamationOn the way to Jerusalem Jesus

was going through the region betweenSamaria and Galilee. As he entered avillage, ten lepers approached him.Keeping their distance, they calledout, saying, "Jesus, Master, havemercy on us!" When he saw them, hesaid to them, "Go and show yourselvesto the priests." And as they went, theywere made clean. Then one of them,when he saw that he was healed,turned back, praising God with a loudvoice. He prostrated himself at Jesus'feet and thanked him. And he was aSamaritan. Then Jesus asked, "Werenot ten made clean? But the othernine, where are they? Was none ofthem found to return and give praiseto God except this foreigner?" Thenhe said to him, "Get up and go on yourway; your faith has made you well."

Prayerful AwarenessAt the beginning of the first Cen-

tury, there existed a great animositybetween the Jews and the Samaritans.This animosity was so great that theJews avoided going through Samariawhen travelling from Galilee to Jerusa-lem and took a circuitous route avoid-ing Samaria. St. Luke in today's Gos-pel proclamation makes it a point tostate that Jesus went purposelythrough Samaria.

It was also a time when lepers wereostracized from society and an ostra-cized group of lepers approached

Jesus most probably in the no man'sland near the border of the two re-gions. Jesus healed all ten lepers inthe group irrespective of their beliefs.However it is clear from Our Lord'scomments, after He identified the Sa-maritan leper that all the other ninewere indeed Jews. "Was no one foundwho would turn and give glory to Godexcept this foreigner? " And he said tohim, "Rise up, go forth. For your faithhas saved you."

The point to be noted in today'sGospel proclamation is that the Samari-tan man prostates himself before a Jew.He is acknowledging the Lordship ofJesus. Very interestingly Jesus says'Your FAITH has SAVED you.'

I can imagine the struggle goingon inside the Samaritan man to giveup his many Baals and prostrate him-self before Jesus. Most probably thisSamaritan, would have learnt about theone true God of the Jews and the soonto come Messiah from his Jewish leperacquaintances. But he took a leap offaith that the nine Jews did not. InJesus' own words he gave glory to Godby accepting and prostrating beforethe Messiah.

Gaze at my sonshipI am aware that I too suffered greatly

from the leprosy of sin. When I pros-trate myself before the Blessed Sacra-ment I know I am thanking Jesus forHis sacrificial death and glorious res-urrection for my sake.

Prayer StarterGlory be to the Father and to the

Son ....


17

Thursday 12th November 2015 St. Josephat, Bishop & Martyr

Wisdom: 7/22-8/1 Psalm:119/89-91, 130, 135, 175 Luke: 17/20-25

First ProclamationFor within her is a spirit intelli-

gent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle,mobile, incisive, unsullied, lucid, in-vulnerable, benevolent, shrewd, irre-sistible, beneficent, friendly to humanbeings, steadfast, dependable, unper-turbed, almighty, all-surveying, pen-etrating all intelligent, pure and mostsubtle spirits.

For Wisdom is quicker to move thanany motion; she is so pure, she per-vades and permeates all things. She isa breath of the power of God, pure ema-nation of the glory of the Almighty; sonothing impure can find its way intoher. For she is a reflection of the eter-nal light, untarnished mirror of God’sactive power, and image of his goodness.Although she is alone, she can do ev-erything; herself unchanging, she re-news the world, and, generation aftergeneration, passing into holy souls, shemakes them into God’s friends andprophets; for God loves only those whodwell with Wisdom. .....

Gospel ProclamationAsked by the Pharisees when the

kingdom of God was to come, he gavethem this answer, ‘The coming of thekingdom of God does not admit of ob-servation and there will be no one tosay, “Look, it is here! Look, it is there!”For look, the kingdom of God is amongyou.’ He said to the disciples, ‘A timewill come when you will long to seeone of the days of the Son of man andwill not see it. They will say to you,“Look, it is there!” or, “Look, it is here!”Make no move; do not set off in pur-suit; for as the lightning flashing fromone part of heaven lights up the other,so will be the Son of man when his Day

comes. But first he is destined to suffergrievously and be rejected by this gen-eration.

Song of PraiseFor ever, Yahweh, your word is planted

firm in heaven. Your constancy enduresfrom age to age; you established the earthand it stands firm. Through your judge-ments all stands firm to this day, for allcreation is your servant.

As your word unfolds it gives light,and even the simple understand.

Let your face shine on your servant,teach me your will.

May I live only to praise you, may yourjudgements be my help.

Prayerful AwarenessToday’s Word describes the attributes

of the Holy Trinity, the creation, and whatconstitutes Gods’ Kingdom. Let us medi-tate on them!

We know a kingdom denotes an areaof jurisdiction. Hence God’s Kingdom isall that the known universe contains (andbeyond) as we say in the CREED (ourProfession of Faith). But God gave theangels and man the freedom of choice, andhence although within His purview someangels (devils) and mankind chose to op-erate on their own wavelength and will-ingly cut themselves off from God’s pro-tective cover. But God loved the world somuch that He sent His only begotten Sonto lay down His life as an atonement forthis sin in order to restore to us our lostglory. Whosoever believeth in this truthcan now claim His Holy Spirit to beanointed back as a child of God to becomepart of His Kingdom, so that God’s King-dom is within us and among us, and we arewithin it! And today’s First Proclamationis a beautiful description of the attributesand the workings of the Holy Spirit! Andeverything will once again be unified inGod’s Kingdom after the Second Coming!So be it. Come Lord Jesus! Amen! Alle-luia!





Wisdom: 13/1-9 Psalm: 19/1-4 Luke: 17/26-37

The First ProclamationFor all people who were ignorant

of God were foolish by nature, and theywere unable from the good things thatare seen to know the one who exists,nor did they recognize the artisanwhile paying heed to his works; but theysupposed that either fire or wind orswift air or the circle of the stars, orturbulent water, or the luminaries ofheaven were the gods that rule theworld. If through delight in the beautyof these things people assumed themto be gods, let them know how muchbetter than these is their Lord, for theauthor of beauty created them. And ifpeople were amazed at their power andworking, let them perceive from themhow much more powerful is the onewho formed them. For from the great-ness and beauty of created things comesa corresponding perception of theirCreator. ....

The Gospel ProclamationJust as it was in the days of Noah,

so too it will be in the days of the Sonof man. They were eating and drink-ing, and marrying and being given inmarriage; until the day Noah enteredthe ark, and the flood came and de-stroyed all of them. Likewise, just as itwas in the days of Lot, they were eatingand drinking, buying and selling, plant-ing and building, but on the day thatLot left Sodom, it rained fire and sul-fur from heaven and destroyed all ofthem - it will be like that on the daythat the Son of Man is revealed. Onthat day, anyone on the housetop whohas belongings in the house must notcome down to take them away; and like-wise anyone in the field must not turnback. Remember Lot's wife. Those whotry to make their life secure will lose

it, but those who lose their life will keepit. I tell you, on that night there will betwo in one bed, one will be taken andthe other left. There will be two womengrinding meal together, one will betaken and the other left." Then theyasked him, "Where, Lord?" He said tothem, "Where the corpse is there thevultures will gather.

Prayerful Awareness"Whoever seeks to preserve his life,

will lose it, but whoever loses it, will saveit." (vs.33)

Man is created in the image of God(Genesis 1:27). Therefore, as God is im-mortal, man is immortal too. He spendspart of his life here on earth in a body, andthe rest of the life, in the hereafter for everand ever.

But generally, we tend to focus ourattention mainly on the component of life,which is lived here and now and tend toignore the part that will be hereafter, whichaccording to the teachings of Jesus, is farmore important. The verses 27 and 28,indicate how in the past, people were notconscious about the life in the hereafter.

Jesus' teachings always seems tostress on the need to exercise our judge-ment and choice. For example, Jesus said,"You cannot serve God and mammon.""Those who are not with me, are againstme." And today, Jesus tells us that, "Who-ever seeks to preserve his life, will lose it."(vs.33) It always is "Either or" We cannotpossess both. Therefore, we are called todenounce one, in order to possess the other.

Today, many people talk of the endof the world. But, what is more importantis the end of our life, here on earth andhow we live this part of our life, in orderto be happy, in the next part of our lifehereafter.

Prayer StarterThe heavens declare the glory of God,

the sky proclaims it's builder's craft, Oneday to the next .... (Ps. 19:2...)


19

Saturday 14th November 2015

Wisdom:18/14-16; 19/6-9 Psalm:105/2-3,36-37; 42-43 Luke: 18/1-8

The Gospel Proclamation

Then Jesus told them a parableabout their need to pray always and notto lose heart. He said, "In a certain citythere was a judge who neither fearedGod nor had respect for people. In thatcity there was a widow who kept com-ing to him and saying, 'Grant me jus-tice against my opponent.' For a whilehe refused; but later he said to him-self, 'Though I have no fear of God andno respect for anyone, yet because thiswidow keeps bothering me, I will granther justice, so that she may not wearme out by continually coming.' And theLord said, "Listen to what the unjustjudge says. And will not God grant jus-tice to his chosen ones who cry to himday and night? Will he delay long inhelping them? I tell you, he will quicklygrant justice to them. And yet, whenthe Son of Man comes, will he find faithon earth?"

Prayerful Awareness

Of the two characters we have in thisparable, the judge neither feared God norhad respect for people. One who has nofear of the Lord will not have regard forothers. When one is forgotten, the othertoo is forgotten. No faith in God then nofaith in man, no love to God then no loveto man and hatrad to God then hatred toman. The other character is the widow indire need of help. A rich influential manmust have been her adversary who haddone her some wrong. As she was poorand unable to bribe the judge she went tohim to obtain her right. Although her re-quest fell on deaf ears she went to him

again and again. Being tired of her he vindi-cated her right. In one way we are in thewidow's boat - in the sense of helpless-ness and need. The unscrupulous and un-just judge finally gave the perseveringwidow what she asked for. Then how muchmore will our heavenly Father, who is alljust and loving, hear our prayers? Therewas no relationship betwen the widow andthe judge. We are God's own people, bloodbought, ransomed family of God. "TheWord became a human being and full ofgrace and truth lived among us." (Jn 1:14)"We have someone who pleads with theFather on our behalf" (1 Jn.2:1) God willsurely vindicate His own people who cryto Him day and night for help. The solu-tions He gives us are by far better than theones we ask for in our prayers. He may attimes delay granting our petitions with theview to make us more disposed to receivewhat is asked for. If God were to grant ourpetitions immediately we might not es-teem the grace. Then there is the danger ofpresumption. The delay in granting a graceis aimed at increasing the faith. It also hap-pens that what is asked for is not grantedbut the grace to endure the same with aview to increasing faith and experiencesand also to help one to see and think posi-tively. Naturally the result is to glorifyHim. He wants us to persevere in prayerand never to stop praying and get discour-aged. (Lk 18;1) "Before confrontng his el-der brother Essau, Jacob wrestles all nightwith a mysterious figure who refuses toreveal his name, but he blesses him beforeleaving him at dawn." From this account,the spiritual tradition of the Church hasretained the symbol of prayer as a battleof faith and as the triumph ofperseverence." (C.C.C.2573)

Prayer Starter

Make us worthy of the life You havecalled us to live. Fulfil our desire for good-ness and complete the work of faith. Amen.




Sunday 15th November 2015 Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time

Daniel: 12/1-3 Psalm: 16/ 5, 8-11 Hebrews: 10/11-14, 18 Mark: 13/24-32

IntroductionAmongst the fears we have as hu-

man beings is the fear of the future,especially about how our life and theworld as we know it will end. There arequite a few people who became popu-lar by predicting or talking authorita-tively about the future. A few whocome to mind are Arthur C. Clarke,Nostradamus, Alvin & Heidi Tofflerand the numerous astrologers in theEast. Currently the devastating effectof global warming is generating a lotof interest. Even the prophecies of theBible are used to create a fear psycho-sis amongst Christians. In the midstof these prophets of doom we havetoday the entrance antiphon giving amessage of hope and consolation.

The Entrance AntiphonThe Lord says: my plans for you

are peace and not disaster; when youcall me, I will listen to you, and I willbring you back to the place fromwhere I exiled you.

Let us read the proclamations fortoday spreading out a spectrum of pre-dictions regarding the end-times.

The First Proclamation"At that time there shall arise

Michael, the great prince, guardianof our people; it shall be a time unsur-passed in distress since nations be-gan until that time. At that time yourpeople shall escape, everyone who is

found written in the book. Many ofthose who sleep in the dust of the earthshall awake; some shall live forever,others shall be an everlasting horrorand disgrace. But the wise shall shinebrightly like the splendor of the fir-mament, and those who lead the manyto justice shall be like the stars for-ever.

Prayerful AwarenessThe first proclamation begins on a

note of consolation. The assurance ofthe presence of someone great whosetask is to act as a guardian (Michael,the great prince, guardian of yourpeople) at a time of turmoil and chaosis indeed comforting. But there aresome things that are stated whichcould make the reader uneasy. Theyare the coming of a time unsurpassedin distress, the escape of only a se-lected lot, division of the people intothose who will live like the stars for-ever and those who will experience ev-erlasting horror and disgrace. Thequestion that will bother us is, in towhich category will I fall? This seemsto be the purpose of this and the read-ings to follow. That is to give us a de-sire to belong to God's elect.

In the gospel proclamation, Jesusreinforces this desire among His dis-ciples. How? Let us read the Gospelproclamation prayerfully.

The Gospel ProclamationBut in those days after that tribu-

lation the sun will be darkened andthe moon will not give its light, andthe stars will be falling from the skyand the powers in the heavens will beshaken. And then they will see 'theSon of Man coming in the clouds' with

But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven,


21

great power and glory, and then he willsend out the angels and gather (his)

elect from the four winds,from the ends of the earthto the ends of the sky.

Learn a lesson fromthe fig tree. When its branch becomestender and sprouts leaves, you knowthat summer is near. In the same way,when you see these things happening,know that he is near, at the very gates.Truly I tell you, this generation willnot pass away until all these thingshave taken place. Heaven and earthwill pass away, but my words will notpass away.

"But about that day or hour no oneknows, neither the angels in heaven,nor the Son, but only the Father.

Gaze at JesusJesus is confirming the events pre-

dicted in the First proclamation.Michael has been replaced by Himselfas the one on whom 'the elect' will de-pend for security. Jesus seems to betelling us to focus on His coming ratherthan the tribulations and disasters thatwill precede it. He is in other wordsasking us to look forward to His com-ing - 'THE PAROUSIA'. Keep on thelook out for the signs of His comingwith eagerness. But do not try to pre-dict definite times because Jesus saysthat it is the privilege of the Father todecide. Does the Father Who lovesus so much want to surprise us?

Again the question of whetheryou and I will be included in the electof the Son of Man is hanging in thebalance.

Let us gaze longingly at Jesus andask Him whether we have been in-cluded. The second proclamationgives us the answer.

The Second ProclamationEvery priest stands daily at his

ministry, offering frequently thosesame sacrifices that can never takeaway sins. But this one offered onesacrifice for sins, and took his seatforever at the right hand of God; nowhe waits until his enemies are madehis footstool. For by one offering hehas made perfect forever those whoare being consecrated. Where thereis forgiveness of these, there is nolonger offering for sin.

Our sonshipWhat has Jesus done for us? He

has offered one sacrifice for our sinsand has taken His seat forever at theright hand of God to plead for us. For-giveness is available to all those whoask for it. He even waits till His en-emies are open enough to become inthe least, His foot stools. The foot-stool of the King is quite a privilegedposition to be in. It is far better thanbeing outside the door isn't it? Theincident when Jesus permitted the sin-ful woman to anoint His feet with ex-pensive oil, and the incident of thewoman who touched the hem of Hisgarment tell us of the advantage ofbeing as close as possible to Him. Ifthe desire to be with Him is in us, Jesustakes over to fulfil that desire despiteourselves. Our sonship is guaranteedbecause of our Saviour Jesus Christ.Rather than because of what we havedone.

Prayer Starter"Heavenly Father, open our

hearts to the silent presence of thespirit of Your Son. Lead us into thatmysterious silence where Your love isrevealed to all who call "Maranatha'Come Lord Jesus'.




Monday 16th November 2015 St.Margaret of Scotland, St.Gertrude

1 Macabees:1/10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-64 Psalm: 119/53,61,134, 150, 155, 158 Luke: 18/35-43

The Gospel ProclamationAs he approached Jericho, a

blind man was sitting by the road-side begging. When he heard acrowd going by, he asked what washappening. They told him, “Jesusof Nazareth is passing by.” Thenhe shouted, “Jesus, Son of David,have mercy on me!” Those whowere in front sternly ordered himto be quiet; but he shouted evenmore loudly, “Son of David, havemercy on me!” Jesus stood stilland ordered the man to bebrought to him; and when hecame near, he asked him, “Whatdo you want me to do for you?”He said, “Lord, let me see again.”Jesus said to him, “Receive yoursight, your faith has saved you.”Immediately he regained hissight and followed him, glorify-ing God, and all the people, whenthey saw it, praised God.

Gaze at Jesus’ SonshipHas the Lord ever abandoned

anyone who held Him in constantreverence? Has the Lord ever ignoredanyone who prayed to Him? (Sirach2:10) So here we see Jesus tellingthe blind man in Jericho “Then see!Your faith has made you well.”He keeps the promises made in theOld Testament. Jesus saw the depth

of the blind man’s faith - the spiri-tual sight was not impaired but onlythe physical sight was. Through at-tention to physical blindness Jesusdraws our attention not to be blindto our faults. He tells us: “Why doyou see the speck in yourneighbour’s eye but do not noticethe log in your own eye?” (Mat-thew 7:3)

Gaze at my sonshipAlthough we have physical sight,

do we have spiritual sight? A verycommon form of blindness is thatwe see only what we want to seeand disregard the rest. How about afather addicted to liquor who justcannot see the misery he is causinghis wife and children? It is selfish-ness that prevents us from seeing.Because of that, don’t we restrictourselves to our little world? Thenthere is the superiority complex - theend result of which is that you lookdown on others and you place your-self on a high pedestal. In order toovercome all these short comings,let us have an openness to the truth.When the Centurion saw the wayJesus died on the cross, he said,“This Man was really the Son ofGod.” (Mark 15:39) Wasn’t he opento truth?

Prayer StarterLord, help me to see clearly Your

Will for me at all times of my life,the loving ways You have alreadymarked out for me, i.e. my voca-tion. In every sphere of my life helpme to say “Thy will be done.”


23

Tuesday 17th November 2015 St. Elizabeth of Hungary

2 Maccabees: 6/18-31 Psalm:3/1-7 Luke: 19/1-10

The Gospel ProclamationHe entered Jericho and was going

through the town and suddenly a manwhose name was Zacchaeus made hisappearance; he was one of the seniortax collectors and a wealthy man. Hekept trying to see which Jesus was, buthe was too short and could not see himfor the crowd; so he ran ahead andclimbed a sycamore tree to catch aglimpse of Jesus who was to pass thatway. When Jesus reached the spot helooked up and spoke to him,'Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, becauseI am to stay at your house today.' Andhe hurried down and welcomed himjoyfully. They all complained whenthey saw what was happening. 'He hasgone to stay at a sinner's house,' theysaid. But Zacchaeus stood his groundand said to the Lord, 'Look, sir, I amgoing to give half my property to thepoor, and if I have cheated anybody Iwill pay him back four times theamount.' And Jesus said to him, 'Todaysalvation has come to this house, be-cause this man too is a son of Abraham;for the Son of man has come to seekout and save what was lost.'

Fix your gaze on JesusThank You Lord for giving what we

really want deep down in overflowing mea-sure....

Zacchaeus clearly was a person whosearched for peace and contentment deepdown. His situation in life as a senior taxcollector required for him to be aligned withthe oppressors of the society of that time.In most probability, he was himself usinghis station in life to add to the oppressionby cheating/extorting on the amounts oftax to collect.

Humanity's fallen nature generallymeans that positions of power over fel-low beings are exploited for personal gain.He became rich in terms of worldly con-cerns, but clearly was experiencing dissat-isfaction despite worldly blessings, andwas experiencing rejection from his breth-ren. His short stature too added to his mis-eries. So, he had probably come to therealisation that worldly abundance (kneel-ing before the world) does not translate tofeelings of joy and peace, of self-worth.And was searching for a solution to hisdiscontent.

The recognition by Jesus- the personeveryone was jostling by the roadside tosee and experience, and acceptance as aworthy fellow being (being chosen for hav-ing a meal with) thus was the tipping pointfor Zacchaeus to let go of the predominantthought patterns he had been choosing/as-sociating with for so long in life. After-all,those thoughts he had been choosing (sow-ing) had been giving him bitter results (reap-ing)!

Jesus, during the course of having din-ner gave him the correct (pleasing to theLord) thoughts to go for, the right path totravel, thus freeing Zacchaeus to let go ofhis attachments to the worldly things ac-cumulated. Thus was he saved!

Now the challenge before us too is tobecome aware of what we 'sow' for our-selves by the harvest we gather, allowingus to change and improve the thoughts/desires/ expectations/ goals/ orientationswe've become used to.

Shall we proceed?Prayer Starter

Thank You Lord, for You bring beforeus the results of our choices....help us tobecome aware of what we do to ourselves,enabling us to turn, returning us to experi-encing a drop of Your love in this eternalmoment....




Wednesday 18th November 2015 Dedication of the Basilica of St.Peter & Paul

2 Macabees:7/1, 20-31 Psalm: 17/1, 5-6, 8, 15 Luke: 19/11-28 OR Acts: 28/11-16, 30-31 Psalm: 98/1-6 Matthew: 14/22-33

The Gospel ProclamationImmediately he made the disciples

get into the boat and go on ahead to theother side, while he dismissed thecrowds. And after he had dismissed thecrowds, he went up the mountain byhimself to pray. When evening came,he was there alone, but by this time theboat battered by the waves, was far fromthe land, ... And early in the morninghe came walking toward them on thesea. But when the disciples saw him ...they were terrified, saying "It is aghost!" And they cried out in fear. Butimmediately, Jesus spoke to them andsaid, "Take heart, it is I; do not beafraid."

Peter answered him, "Lord, if it isyou, command me to come to you onthe water" He said, "Come." So Petergot out of the boat, started walking onthe water, and came toward Jesus. Butwhen he noticed the strong wind, hebecame frightened, and beginning tosink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"Jesus immediately reached out hishand and caught him, saying to him,"You of little faith, why did you doubt?"When they got into the boat, the windceased. And those in the boat worshippedhim, saying, "Truly you are the Son ofGod."

Gaze at JesusLord You have fed 5000 men with 5

loaves and two fish. You are prompted bythe Holy Spirit to be alone with the Fa-ther. So You tell Your disciples to get intothe boat and head back to Capernaum,when You dispense the crowd. Soon You

are alone with the Father. May be You fellasleep on the grass with the wind blowingagainst You taking Your tiredness away.

It is now close to dawn, but it is stilldark around You. Your physical eyes can-not see through the darkness, but in Yourminds eye the Holy Spirit shows You thedisciples rowing the boat and their loca-tion. The Holy Spirit is clearly command-ing You. You could have by-locatedstraight into the boat. Instead You standon the water. The disciples take You for aghost. You speak and calm their fears.

Lord teach me to let go and let God bylistening to the Holy Spirit.

Prayerful AwarenessLet us look at Peter's behaviour. Peter's

impulsive nature can be clearly seen. Herecognizes the Lord and starts out walkingon the water. But the seasoned fishermanlooks around, loses his faith and begins tosink. Quickly he recovers and without try-ing to swim, shouts, "Lord, save me".

Gaze at my sonshipWe too, each one of us, give in to our

human frailties in our walk with the Lord.In fact in my case, very often.

After the slip, I repent. And the lovingGod reminds me of His unconditional love.I think of Jesus who emptied Himself ofall His glory and power and limited Him-self to be a human being like you and meThe only faculty I possess is my FREEWILL. Thus man becomes the supremecreation, because all other species werecreated to operate on instinct. So Jesussuffered a great deal to teach us how to useour free will.

When we read the gospels, Luke inparticular, the prayer life of Jesus is clearlymentioned. This is the time where we trainourselves to listen to His voice. DiscoverHis love and remain in it. Be still and knowthat Jesus is God.

Prayer StarterLord help me trust You despite the

world and the environment.


25


1 Macabees: 2/15-29 Psalm: 50/1-2,5-6, 14-15 Luke: 19/41-44

The Gospel ProclamationAs he came near and saw the city,

he wept over it, saying, “If you, evenyou, had only recognized on this daythe things that make for peace! Butnow they are hidden from your eyes.Indeed, the days will come upon you,when your enemies will set up ram-parts around you and surround you,and hem you in on every side. Theywill crush you to the ground, you andyour children within you, and they willnot leave within you one stone uponanother, because you did not recog-nize the time of your visitation fromGod.”

Prayerful AwarenessJerusalem derives its name from the

word “salem” which means “peace”.The temple in Jerusalem was a con-stant reminder to the people, of God’spresence with them. Why does Jesusweep and lament for this city? The wordPeace means different things to differ-ent people. It depends on their currentlife experience. But the peace that Jesusis talking about is peace that is experi-enced despite one’s current experi-ence. Jesus talked about peace justbefore His arrest. “The hour is com-ing, indeed it has come, when all ofyou would be scattered, every man tohis home and will leave me alone; yet Iam not alone, for the Father is withme. I have said this to you, that in meyou may have peace.” (John 16:32-33).The peace that Jesus talks about isthat which is obtained by the experi-ence of being constantly in the pres-

ence of the Father. Jesus when He sawthe state to which Jerusalem had dete-riorated He wept. Jerusalem was sup-posed to be a city of peace due to thepresence of God in it. But now it hadbecome a centre for trade and com-merce

Jesus “seeing” the destruction thatwas in store for the city of peace ismoved with pity. He says that all thisis due to the people not recognizingthe “time of your visitation”.

Our sonshipHave we recognized the time of our

visitation? The time of visitation isright now. The Lord is not slow to showmercy. Letting go the moment of gracegiven us to repent is indeed a tragedy.It grieves the Holy Spirit within us. TheLord in His mercy gives us grace andtime to turn away from sin, but thattime is right now. If we delay, even fora moment, we may discover that gracehas passed us by and our time is up.Do you accept the grace to turn awayfrom sin and to walk in God’s way ofpeace and holiness?

We are called upon to be con-stantly aware of the guiding presenceof the Holy Spirit within us. He it isthat moves and directs us to claim ourheritage of being sons/daughters ofGod. “Those who are led by the Spiritof God are the sons of God.” (Romans8;14)

Prayer StarterLord, You have visited and re-

deemed Your people. May I not missthe grace of Your visitation today asYou move to bring Your people intogreater righteousness and holiness oflife. Purify my heart and mind that Imay understand Your ways better andconform my life more fully to Your Will.





1 Macabees:4/36-37, 52-59 Psalm:1 Chronicles: 29/10-12 Luke: 19/45-48

The First ProclamationThen Judas and his brothers said,

"See, our enemies are crushed; let usgo up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedi-cate it." So all the army assembled andwent up to Mount Zion. ...

Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which isthe month of Chislev, in the one hun-dred fort-eighth year, they rose and of-fered sacrifice, as the law directs, onthe new altar of burnt offering thatthey had built. At the very season andon the very day that the Gentiles hadprofaned it, it was dedicated with songsand harps and lutes and cymbals. Allthe people fell on their faces and wor-shiped and blessed Heaven, who hadprospered them. So they celebrated thededication of the altar for eight days,and joyfully offered burnt offerings;they offered a sacrifice of well-beingand a thanksgiving offering. They deco-rated the front of the temple withgolden crowns and small shields; theyrestored the gates and the chambersfor the priests, and fitted them withdoors.

The Gospel ProclamationThen he entered the temple and

began to drive out those who were sell-ing things there, and he said, "It iswritten, 'My house shall be a house ofprayer'; but you have made it a den ofrobbers."

Every day he was teaching in thetemple. The chief priests, the scribes,and the leaders of the people kept look-ing for a way to kill him, but they didnot find anything they could do, for allthe people were spellbound by what

they heard.Prayerful Awareness

Let us gaze at the verse, "My houseshall be a house of prayer" (vs. 46) sym-bolically

We are the dwelling place of God.Therefore, we ourselves, need to be pray-ing people. But the question is, what strue prayer? In order to get an answer tothis question let us see what prayer is not.Jesus says "When you pray, do not belike hypocrites, who love to stand andpray in the synagogues and street cor-ners, so that others may see them ....But when you pray, go to your innerroom close the door, and pray to yourFather in secret. " (Matthew 6:5). Ac-cording to Jesus, true prayer needs to be amatter of the heart and mind. Whenever,we go to the presence of God in our heartsand minds, then we are at prayer. Thiscould happen during the course of our dailyroutine activities.

The recitation of the Holy Rosary,where we meditate on the life of Jesus andMary, and go to the presence of God inour hearts and minds, is obviously the bestprayer, as the official teachings of theChurch declare and proclaimed by God,through the Blessed Virgin Mary, atFatima, Lourdes etc.

Also in verse 7 in Mathew ch. 6, it issaid, "In praying, do not babble like thepagans, who think that they will beheard, because of their many words."Therefore, it is clear, that true prayer isnot a matter of the lips.

Furthermore, in the "Lord's Prayer"where Jesus showed how to pray, everyverse exhorts us to act. Let us reflect, "ThyWill be done" ".. as we forgive others .."etc. etc. Therefore true prayer ultimatelyboils down to a way of living.

Prayer StarterBlessed may You be, O Lord .... (Ps. 1

Chron. 29/10 ....


27

Saturday 21st November 2015 Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Zechariah:2/14-17 Psalm: Luke: 1/46-55 Matthew: 12/46-50

Presentation of the Blessed Vir-gin Mary

Our Lady's parents, Sts. Joachimand Anna, in fulfilment of their vow,brought their three-year old daughterMary to the temple in Jerusalem. Thereshe was to be educated by the holywomen together with the other youngvirgins, and consecrated to God's ser-vice. This feast emphasizes the holi-ness conferred on her from the veryinception of her life on earth and whichcontinued through her early childhoodand beyond. Surely it was the resultof her total dedication to God.Through practice of the virtues of hu-mility, obedience and charity, she be-came a temple greater than any madeby human hands. Having chosen herfor her unique role in His saving work,God not only indwelt her in a marvel-ous manner but also sanctified her.

The Gospel ProclamationPlease read Matthew: 12/46-50

prayerfully.Prayerful Awareness

This account is disheartening.There is the love and care for Jesusshown by His mother and his relatives.They are anxious about Him and oneis puzzled by what He does and say.This is one of the greatest tragediesof Jesus' life that during His lifetime,His kith and kin never understoodHim. They tried to restrain Him think-ing that He was mad.(Luke 3:21) Theyalso thought He was inviting danger,throwing His life away. Jesus seemedto engage in detaching Himself fromboth earthly and human affections andbuilding up a kind of supernatural andspiritual kinship - the result of obey-ing and doing the Will of the Father.

"It was announced to Our Lordthat His mother was seeking Him. OurLord with seeming unconcern, turnedto the crowd and asked "Who is mymother?" (Mth.12:48) Then revealingthe great Christian mystery that rela-tionship is not dependent on flesh andblood, but on union with Divine na-ture through grace, He added "Hereare my mother and my brothers. Who-ever does the Will of my heavenly Fa-ther is my brother, my sister, mymother" (Mt.12:50) The mystery cameto an end on Calvary. There she be-came our Mother, the moment she losther Divine Son. What seems an alien-ation of affection was in reality a deep-ening of affection. No love evermounts to a higher level without deathto a lower one. Mary died to the loveof Jesus at Cana, and recovered Jesusagain at Calvary with His Mysticalbody which He redeemed. It was forthe moment a poor exchange, givingup her Divine Son to win mankind, butin reality she did not win mankind apartfrom Him. On that day when she cameto Him preaching, He began to mergethe Divine maternity into the newmotherhood of all men; at Calvary Hecaused her to love men as He lovedthem." (Archbishop F.J.Sheen)

"Becoming a disciple of Jesusmeans accepting the invitation to be-long to God's family, to live in confor-mity with His way of life: "For who-ever does the Will of my Father inheaven is my brother, and sister, andmother." Parents should welcome andrespect with joy and thanksgiving theLord's call to one of their children tofollow Him in virginity for the sake ofthe Kingdom in consecrated life or inpriestly ministry. (C.C.C.2233)

Prayer StarterHelp us to be Your friends by do-

ing what You command us to do.Amen.




Sunday 22nd November 2015

Daniel: 7/13-14Psalm: 93/1-2, 5Revelation: 1/5-8John: 18/33-37

34th Sunday of Ordinary Time Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

The great day of celebration iscome. Christ who was subject tothe most humiliating of human ex-periences, makes the very 'cross'the door way to Glory, to powerand kingship. He is the King ofkings.

"The lamb who wasslain is worthy to receivestrength and divinity,wisdom and power andhonour, to him be gloryand power for ever."

We end the Liturgical Year in aspirit of great joy because the holdthat the power of evil has on manand the world around, is broken.

Let us pray:Almighty and merciful God,

You break the power of evil andmake all things new in Your SonJesus Christ, the King of theUniverse. May all in heaven andearth acclaim Your glory andnever cease to praise You Amen.

The Gospel: John 18/33-37'Are you the king of the

Jews?' Pilate asked. Jesus re-plied, 'Do you ask this of yourown accord, or have others spo-

ken to you about me?' Pilate an-swered, 'Am I a Jew? It is yourown people and the chief priestswho have handed you over tome; what have you done?'Jesus replied, 'Mine is not akingdom of this world; if mykingdom were of this world, mymen would have fought to pre-vent my being surrendered tothe Jews. But my kingdom isnot of this kind.' 'So you areking then?' said Pilate. 'It is youwho say it' answered Jesus.'Yes, I am a king. I was bornfor this. I came into the worldfor this; to bear witness to thetruth; and all who are on theside of truth listen to my voice'

Let us imagine a stranger at thecourt of Pilate listening to this pub-lic confession of Jesus regardingwho He is. What could possibly behis reaction. He would have a fewquestions to ask himself.

- Who is this man? Can he betaken seriously? Is he mentally de-ranged or abnormal, though hedoesn't look one. Isn't he mislead-ing the masses.

There could possibly be how-ever a group who sees things intheir correct perspective. They seedifferently. They have a SeventhEye. They are ready to believe thatHe probably is the prophet waited


29

for. He must really be King.The Second Reading

Revelation 1/5-8Here is material for

the 7th Eye to read, totake in and believe. The writer ofthe Book of Revelation or theApocalypse under the direction ofthe Holy Spirit opens out to us anincomparable vision of Jesus – Hesummarises for us crypticallythough, who the real Jesus is. Markthe words:

- Jesus the faithful witness,the first-born from the dead,Ruler of the kings of the earth.

- He who loves us, washesaway our sins with His ownBlood, makes us a line ofkings, priests to serve God andFather

- It is He who comes on theclouds

- Everyone will see Him;even those who pierced Him

- All the races of the earthwill mourn over Him

- To Him be Glory andpower for ever and ever

He is the Alpha and Omegasays the Lord God who is, whowas, and who is to come theAlmighty.

The First ReadingDaniel 7/13-14

What John saw as also the

writer of the Apocalypse was al-ready seen by Daniel a long timebefore Jesus appeared on thescene.

The first reading provides us to-day in our 21st Century, material fora contemplative stance beforeJesus.

I gazed into the vision of thenight. I saw coming on the cloudsof heaven one like a son of man.He came to the one of great ageand was led into his presence. Onhim was conferred sovereignty,glory and kingship, and men of allpeoples, nations and languages be-came his servants. His sovereigntyis an eternal sovereignty whichshall never pass away nor will hisempire ever be destroyed.

Let us conclude our gaze atJesus the King with the prayer:

Father all- powerful, God oflove, You have raised our LordJesus Christ from death to life,resplendent in glory as King ofcreation. Open our hearts, freeall the world to rejoice in Hispeace, to glory in His justice, tolive in His love. Bring all man-kind together in Jesus ChristYour Son whose kingdom is withYou and the Holy Spirit one Godfor ever and ever.




Monday 23rd November 2015 St. Clement I, Pope & Martyr

Daniel: 1/1-6, 8-20 Psalm: Daniel: 3/52-56 Luke: 21/1-4

The First ProclamationIn the third year of the reign of

king Jehoakim of Judah, KingNebuchadnezar of Babylon came toJerusalem and besieged it ....

Then the King commanded his pal-ace master ... to bring some of the Is-raelites of the royal family and of thenobility, young men without physicaldefect and handsome, versed in everybranch of wisdom, endowed withknowledge and insight, and competentto serve in the king’s palace.... Theking assigned them a daily portion ofthe royal rations of food andwine....Among them were Daniel,Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, fromthe tribe of Juda.... But Daniel re-solved that he would not defile him-self with the royal rations of food andwine; so he asked the palace masterto allow him not to defile himself. NowGod allowed Daniel to receive favorand compassion from the palace mas-ter ..... “Please test your servants forten days. Let us be given vegetables toeat and water to drink. You can thencompare our appearance with the ap-pearance of the young men who eatthe royal rations ... At the end of tendays it was observed that they appearedbetter and fatter than all the youngmen who had been eating the royalrations .... To these four young menGod gave knowledge and skill in ev-ery aspect of literature and wisdom.Daniel also had insight into all visionsand dreams ....

The Gospel ProclamationJesus looked around and saw rich

men dropping their gifts in the templetreasury, and He also saw a very poorwidow dropping in two little copper

coins. He said, “I tell you that this poorwidow put in more than all the others.For the others offered their gifts fromwhat they had to spare of their riches,but she, poor as she is, gave all shehad to live on”

Prayerful AwarenessJesus is not concerned so much

about the quantity or the abundancebut about the quality – about what weoffer to God. Is there anything thatwe can offer God that does not belongto Him already? You and I, our verylives are His possession. This we for-get and we place a higher value on ourpossessions and even identify our-selves based on them. i.e. I am theowner of a company …… a modernvehicle…….. a well-equipped house…… etc. The parable of the rich manwho owned several barns full of graintells us the futility of possessionswhen compared to life itself. On theother hand when we abandon our-selves to God Almighty He undertakesthe provision of all that we need forour sustenance. This is what the poorwidow did when she gave all she hadto God and placed herself totally inHis care.

Let us ask for the faith we need tototally rely on God rather than our pos-sessions, skills, knowledge and con-nections to powerful people of theworld.

Prayer Starter“Can a woman forget her suck-

ing child, that she should have nocompassion on the son of her womb?

Even these may forget, yet I willnot forget you.

Behold, I have graven you on thepalms of my hands;

Let me remember your promiseand abandon myself to your lovingcare …….


31

Tuesday 24th November 2015

Daniel: 2/31-45 Psalm: Daniel: 1/57-61 Luke: 21/5-11

The First ProclamationPlease read Daniel 1/31-45 medita-

tively.The Gospel Proclamation

When some were speaking aboutthe temple, how it was adorned withbeautiful stones and gifts dedicated toGod, he said, "As for these things thatyou see, the days will come when notone stone will be left upon another, allwill be thrown down."

They asked him, "Teacher, whenwill this be, and what will be the signthat this is about to take place?" Andhe said, "Beware that you are not ledastray; for many will come in my nameand say, 'I am he!" and, 'The time isnear!' Do not go after them.

"When you hear of wars and in-surrections, do not be terrified, forthese things must take place first, butthe end will not follow immediately."Then he said to them, "Nation will riseagainst nation and kingdom againstkingdom; there will be great earth-quakes and in various places faminesand plagues, and there will be dread-ful portents and great signs fromheaven.

Prayerful AwarenessHere we see, Jesus clearly speaks

of the destruction of the Temple whenHis disciples came to Him to call hisattention to the beauty of its build-ings. Jesus predicted to them veryclearly the things to happen in the fu-ture.

The temple the disciples were ad-

miring was not Solomon's temple - thathad been destroyed by theBabylonians in the Seventh CenturyB.C. This temple had been built byEzra, after the return from exile in thesixth century B.C. desecrated by theSelencids in the second Century B.C.reconstructed by the Maccabees soonafterwards, and enormously expandedby Herod the Great over a 46 year pe-riod. It was a BEAUTIFUL, imposingstructure with a significant history, butJesus said that it would be COM-PLETELY DESTROYED. This hap-pened when the Roman army burnedJerusalem.

Jesus did NOT leave His disciplesUNPREPARED for the difficult yearsahead. He WARNED them aboutFALSE MESSIAHS, natural disastersand persecutions, but He assured themthat He would be WITH THEM to pro-tect them and make His Kingdomknown through them, in the end. JesusPROMISED that He would RETURNIN POWER AND GLORY to SAVEthem. Jesus' warnings and promisesto His disciples also apply to US, aswe look forward to His return. Jesuspredicted both near and distant eventsso that they could learn how to live inthe present and to help us to remainSPIRITUALLY ALERT and PRE-PARED at all times as we wait for Hisreturn.

Prayer StarterJesus our Saviour, we wait for

Your return and while we wait, wedelight in the Holy Spirit's power totell and show others what Jesus hasdone through His death and resur-rection, and His promise to RETURN.

Help us to witness of Your GOOD-NESS and GRACE.




Wednesday 25th November 2015

Daniel: 5/1-6,13-14, 16-17, 23-28 Psalm: Daniel: 3/62-67 Luke: 21/12-19

The Gospel Proclamation"But before all this occurs, they

will arrest you and persecute you; theywill hand you over to synagogues andprisons, and you will be brought be-fore kings and governors because ofmy name. This will give you an oppor-tunity to testify. So make up yourminds not to prepare your defense inadvance, for I will give you words anda wisdom that none of your opponentswill be able to withstand or contradict.You will be betrayed even by parentsand brothers, by relatives and friends,and they will put some of you to death.You will be hated by all because of myname. But not a hair of your head willperish. By your endurance you willgain your souls."

Prayerful AwarenessWe all have read about the denial

of the knowledge of Jesus by Peter atthe trial of Our Lord. Some interpretthis event that since Peter denied Jesusthree times, the Lord asked him thrice,"Do you love me?" I have heard of adifferent interpretation which I wishto state here.

Before that a brief look at the En-glish word "love" which is used rightlyor wrongly in many ways. If one saysI love my girl friend, that is accept-able. In the same breadth if I say I loveto read or I love ice cream, then some-thing is wrong. The Sinhala languageas well as the Greek in which the NewTestament was written has manywords for the English word love. Wewill just take two words today for the

purpose of our reflection.They are 1) Phileo and 2) Agape.PHILEO stands for human love and

fellowship among friends.AGAPE on the other hand is un-

conditional LOVE that is difficult toexplain and we use adjectives like pur-suing, relentless, forgiving to describe.

So the conversation between theRisen Lord and Peter, conducted in theAramaic language would have beensomething like this. "Simon, son ofJonah, do you AGAPE me? Peter re-plies, "Lord you know that I PHILEOyou." The same question repeated thesecond time; Simon replies with a dif-ferent tone, but the same answer. Jesusrepeats for the third time. Peter is see-ing a light. He is talking to the Son ofGod in person, and his reply is some-thing like this. Lord you know every-thing. You know whether I AGAPE youor not."

Another person who listened tothis conversation is John, the beloveddisciple. John would have thoughtmuch about this conversation and hewrites in 1 John 4/10 - In this is love,not that we have loved God, but he lovedus and sent His Son as expiation forour sins.

Gaze at my sonshipI can love God only to the extent

that I permit the Holy Spirit to actthrough me. You and I are being gradu-ally taken through a process of livingthat requires us to die to our self dailyin order that we may be empowered toAGAPE. May we all thirst to be an-other Christ in this world.

Prayer StarterLord the Holy Spirit, teach me to

Agape!


33



Gospel Proclamation

When you see Jerusalem sur-rounded by armies then you must real-ize that it will be soon laid desolate.Then those in Judaea must escape tothe mountains, those inside the citymust leave it, and those in country dis-tricts must not take refuge in it. Forthis is the time of retribution when allthat scripture says must be fulfilled.Alas for those with child, or with ba-bies at the breast, when those dayscome! For great misery will descendon the land and retribution on thispeople. They will fall by the edge ofthe sword and be led captive to everygentile country and Jerusalem will betrampled down by the gentiles untiltheir time is complete.

There will be signs in the sun andmoon and stars; on earth nations inagony bewildered by the turmoil of theocean and its waves; men fainting awaywith terror and fear at what menacesthe world, for the powers of heaven willbe shaken. And then they will see theson of man coming in a cloud with powerand great glory. When these things be-gin to take place, stand erect, hold yourheads high, because your liberation isnear at hand.

Gaze at Jesus

Through the scripture today we arelooking at a world that is turbulent, at aworld that is full of uncertainties. Yet inthe midst of the uncertainties, the scrip-ture promises hope. Hope when the Sonof Man is going to be revealed. Gospelalso encourages the world to accept thatultimate freedom to all our suffering willcome from Jesus.

Prayerful Awareness

Today’s world is not only turbulentwith natural disaster, it is also a world ofrush to the extent that people have forgot-ten God. End result being the chaos weexperience.

The good news is embedded in theWord with its promise that even in themidst of this chaos, God will choose theday to reveal Himself to the world. There-fore, we have to be still and have hope inGod’s existence.

Therefore, those of us to whom Godhas made His living presence known, mustundertake a life worthy of our knowledgeabout what God can accomplish in theworld.

In the first reading today we read thestory of Daniel who was rescued from thelions. He was such a man that he led a lifeworthy of the relationship he had securedin God. To his intellect Daniel knew thatGod was worth all his attention. There-fore, he did not allow the king's command-ment to jeopardize his relationship withGod.Finally, Daniel’s faith was not onlyappreciated by God, but because of thefaith he demonstrated, king Darius recog-nized the living presence of God and pro-claimed to all the nations about God.Prayer Starter (Psalm: Daniel 3:68-74)

Dew and rain, bless the Lord; praiseand exalt him above all forever

Frost and chill, bless the Lord; praiseand exalt him above all forever

Ice and snow, bless the Lord; praiseand exalt him above all forever

Light and darkness, bless the Lord;praise and exalt him above all forever

Lightning and clouds, bless the Lord;praise and exalt him above all forever

Let the earth bless the Lord, praiseand exalt him above all forever






The First ProclamationI, Daniel, saw in my vision by night

the four winds of heaven stirring upthe great sea, and four great beastscame up out of the sea, different fromone another. .... As I watched, throneswere set in place, and an Ancient Onetook his throne, his clothing was whiteas snow, and the hair of his head likepure wool; his throne was fiery flames,and its wheels were burning fire. Astream of fire issued and flowed outfrom his presence. A thousand thou-sands served him, and ten thousandtimes ten thousand stood attendinghim. The court sat in judgment, andthe books were opened..... I saw onelike a human being coming with theclouds of heaven. And he came to theAncient One and was presented be-fore him. To him was given dominionand glory and kingship, that allpeoples, nations and languages shouldserve him. His dominion is an ever-lasting dominion that shall not passaway, and his kingship is one thatshall never be destroyed.

The Gospel ProclamationThen he told them a parable: "Look

at the fig tree and all the trees; as soonas they sprout leaves you can see foryourselves and know that summer isalready near. So also, when you seethese things taking place, you knowthat the Kingdom of God is near. TrulyI tell you, this generation will not passaway, until all things have taken place.Heaven and earth will pass away, butmy words will not pass away.

Prayerful AwarenessNow, towards the end of Jesus' life

on earth, He says ".... when you seethese things happening, know that theKingdom of God is near" (vs. 31). Atthe very beginning of Jesus' publicministry too, Jesus said, similar words. "This is the time of fulfilment, theKingdom of God is close at hand ..."(Luke 1:15) Do these two statements,contradict each other? Definitely not.But they complement each other.

What Jesus seems to say is, that,the Kingdom of God which dawnedon earth at His first arrival, will see itscompletion or perfection, when Hecomes upon the earth the second timein glory.

And in between these two events,the Kingdom of God exists here onearth. Jesus calls us to enter into it, toexperience it. The way to the Kingdomis Jesus Himself - "I am the way, thetruth and the life" He said. "The King-dom of God is within you ... aroundyou" Jesus said. Therefore, let us makehay while the sun shines.

The end will come someday. So,the prudent thing is not to waste time,but to make use of the time, that Godgives us every day, in order to experi-ence God's Kingdom, savour it, relishthe love, kindness and compassion,power and supremacy of God.

Prayer StarterBless the Lord, mountains and

hills; sing praise to him and highlyexalt him forever. Bless the Lord, yousprings; sing praise to him and highlyexalt him forever. Bless the Lord, allthat grows in the ground; sing praiseto him and highly exalt him forever..... (Ps. Daniel 3:75 ....)


35

Saturday 28th November 2015 Feast of St. Catherene Laboure (Virgin)


St. Catherene LaboureShe was born on May 02,1806. Her

father was a prosperous French farmer andher mother was Madeleine Louis Gontard.She was the ninth of 17 children. She hadno formal education. Despite her father'sopposition she sustained her desire to be-come a religious. She kept house for herfather and brothers. In 1830 she enteredthe novitiate of the Sisters of Charity atRue Du Bac in Paris, taking the nameCatherene. Her supernatural manifesta-tions began with the visible presence ofChrist in the Blessed Sacrament and Hisapparition as King on Trinity Sunday. Thiswas followed by three remarkable revela-tions of Our Lady. The Miraculous medalOur Lady wanted her to make popularwas the source of marvelous cures andspiritual favours. Died: December 31,1876. Beatified: May 03, 1933; Canon-ized: July 27, 1947 by Pope Pius XII.

The Gospel Proclamation"Be on guard so that your hearts

are not weighed down with dissipationand drunkenness and the worries ofthis life; and that day catch you unex-pectedly, like a trap. For it will comeupon all who live on the face of thewhole earth. Be alert at all times, pray-ing that you may have the strength toescape all these things that will takeplace, and to stand before the Son ofMan.

Prayerful AwarenessWe have an exhortation to vigilance on

the last day of the Liturgical Year. Of themessage Jesus preached, the exhortationto be ready for His Second Coming is abasic one. How a person will stand before

the Son of Man is decided by the way thata person lives now. "There are two thingscertain in this life - death and taxes." Thisis a popular saying but we have to add athird - judgement. "All of us will standbefore God to be judged by Him. Everyone of us will have to give an account ofhimself to God. (Romans 14:10, 12). "Thetime of His second coming, He knows notas a man, but only as God. He will not tellit except in warning that it will be sudden,like lightening. He came as a "Man of Sor-rows". Then He shall come in glory. (Arch-bishop F.J.Sheen.) The account of our lifewe have to give Him has to include howclosely we have followed Jesus Christ, howfaithful and earnest we have been to Hiscause and also how true and loyal; whetherwe have multiplied the talents entrustedto us or kept them safe without using them.(Matthew 25:14-30). As long as we areinterested only in enjoying this earthly life,we won't have time or desire to think ofthe Second Coming of the Lord. Givingpriority to temporal things and have notime for prayer - then we too may get thisreply from Him, "I never knew you; getaway from me, you wicked people".(Mth. 7;23). Have firm faith and stand withconfidence before Him now, then we neednot fear His judgement. In Jesus "the King-dom of God is at hand." He calls His hear-ers to conversion and faith but also towatchfulness. In prayer the disciple keepswatch, attentive to Him Who Is and HimWho comes, in memory of His first com-ing in the lowliness of the flesh, and in thehope of His Second Coming in glory. Incommunion with their Master, the dis-ciples' prayer is a battle; only by keepingwatch in prayer can one avoid falling intotemptation. (C.C.C.2612)

Prayer StarterHelp us to be on guard, as we do not

know the day and hour Our Lord willcome." Amen. (Mathew 24:42)




Sunday 29th November 2015 First Sunday of Advent

Jeremiah:33/14-16 Psalm: 25/4-5, 8-9, 10-14 1 Thessalonian:3/12- 4/2 Luke: 21/25-28, 34-36

IntroductionToday the Catholic Church begins a

new Liturgical year. It begins with the sea-son of Advent which consists of fourweeks. Why are these four weeks beforeChristmas called "Advent"? The termwhich comes from a Latin word, adventus(Greek parousia), means "coming" or "ar-rival" and the season of Advent is focusedon the "coming" of Jesus as Messiah(Christ or King). It is the day on which wesing the hymn:

O come, Divine Messiah,The world in silence waits thedayWhen hope shall sing its triumph,And sadness flee awayDear Saviour haste!Come, come to earth,Dispel the night and show ThyfaceAnd bid us hail the dawn of grace

As the Hymn expresses Advent isa time of hope. We await in hope thecoming of the Messiah on whom wehave placed our trust to fulfill our de-sire for salvation from all forms of op-pression, violence and hatred. So letus join the Entrance Antiphon express-ing our trust in God.

To you my God, I lift my soul, I trustin you; let me never come to shame.Do not let my enemies laugh at me.No one who waits for you is ever putto shame.

The First ProclamationThe days are coming, says the

Lord, when I will fulfill the promise Imade to the house of Israel and Judah.In those days, in that time, I will raiseup for David a just shoot; he shall dowhat is right and just in the land. Inthose days Judah shall be safe andJerusalem shall dwell secure; this iswhat they shall call her; "The Lordour justice."

Prayerful AwarenessThe season of Advent though only

four weeks for us, for the chosenpeople of God, it spanned a period ofsix centuries. But they never losthope. The promise of the Lord ex-pressed in the proclamation of todaywas handed down from generation togeneration. In four weeks time we willbe celebrating the fulfilment of thatpromise which happened 2015 yearsago. But it must be remembered thatthis long awaited coming was unno-ticed by some, rejected by others andwelcomed only by a handful. TheMessiah went unnoticed by those pre-occupied with other concerns. He wasrejected by those who had precon-ceived ideas of the specifications ofthe Messiah and His coming was ac-cepted only by those who truly had aneed for Him and were ready to acceptHim in any way that He was willing tocome.

Are you and I ready to accept theMessiah in the way that He came?What is the meaning of being born ofa Virgin, and in a stable, acknowledgedas the Messiah only by poor shep-herds and a few animals, and threeMagi who were not even aware of thepromise of Yahweh? Or are we goingto romanticize His coming in the tradi-tional way and plan as to how we could


37

enjoy Christmas?The Gospel

ProclamationThere will be signs in

the sun, the moon and thestars, and on earth na-

tions will be in dismay, perplexed bythe roaring of the sea and the waves.People will die of fright in anticipa-tion of what is coming upon the world,for the powers of the heavens will beshaken and then they will see the Sonof Man coming in a cloud with powerand great glory. But when these signsbegin to happen, stand erect and raiseyour heads because your redemptionis at hand" "Beware that your heartsdo not become drowsy from carous-ing and drunkenness and the anxi-eties of daily life, and that day catchyou by surprise like a trap. For thatday will assault everyone who lives inthe face of the earth. Be vigilant at alltimes and pray that you have thestrength to escape the tribulationsthat are imminent and to stand beforethe Son of Man."

Gaze at JesusAdvent is also a preparation for

the Second Coming of Christ in Hisglory. The First Coming of the Mes-siah, was anticipated with joy by ourforefathers in the Lord. But what is ourattitude towards His Second Coming?How would Jesus want us to await HisSecond Coming?

There are so many parables re-garding the need for readiness to re-ceive Him when He comes again. Intoday's Gospel proclamation too Jesustells us: "Be vigilant at all times andpray that you have the strength to es-cape the tribulations that are immi-nent and to stand before the Son ofMan."

The Second ProclamationAnd may the Lord make you in-

crease and abound in love for one an-other and for all, just as we have foryou, so as to strengthen your hearts,to be blameless in holiness before ourGod and Father at the coming of ourLord Jesus, with all his holy ones.(Amen). Finally, brothers, we ear-nestly ask and exhort you in the LordJesus that, as you received from ushow you should conduct yourselves toplease God - and as you are conduct-ing yourselves -you do so even more.For you know what instructions wegave you through the Lord Jesus.

Our Sonship

We need to celebrate the First Com-ing of Jesus and prepare for His Sec-ond Coming; the way to do it is to beaware of His coming into our life ev-ery moment of every day. It is appro-priate to remind ourselves of how wemay encouner the Lord. Let us readthe following scripture passages.

Where two or three gather in myname I am there in the midst of them(Matthew 18:19-20)

Whatsoever you do the least of mybrothers that you do unto me. (Mat-thew 25:40)

And he fell to the ground andheard a voice saying to him, "Saul,Saul, why do you persecute me?" Andhe said "Who are you, Lord? " And hesaid "I am Jesus, whom you are per-secuting. (Acts 9:4-5)

Prayer Starter

Lord Jesus Christ, Who is, Who wasand Who is to come, we pray for thevirtue of hope, that amidst the trialsand difficulties of this world, we maykeep our hearts fixed upon You, whoreigns over the Cosmos. May Yourgrace enliven us, strengthening us,and defend us, as we await Your com-ing in glory. Amen. (David Bennett)




Monday 30th November 2015 St. Andrew Apostle

Isaiah: 2/1-5 Psalm: 122/1-2, 4-5, 6-9Matthew: 8/5-11

Gospel ProclamationWhen he went to Capernaum, a

centurion came up and pleaded withhim. Sir he said, my servant is lyingat home paralyzed and in great pain.Jesus said to him, I will come myselfand cure him. The centurion replied,Sir, I am not worthy to have you undermy roof, just give the word and my ser-vant will be cured. For I am under au-thority myself and have soldiers un-der me, and I say to one man, ‘go’ andhe goes; to another, ‘come here’, andhe comes; to my servant, ‘do this’ andhe does it. When Jesus heard this Hewas astonished and said to those fol-lowing him, in truth I tell you, in noone in Israel have I found faith as greatas this. And I tell you that many willcome from east and west and sit downwith Abraham and Isaac and Jacob atthe feast in the kingdom of heaven.

Gaze at JesusCenturion, a man in authority

points our attention towards Jesuswho has ultimate authority and domin-ion over our lives. Centurion’s storyteaches us to submit our lives to Jesuswho brings healing and reconciliationand allow us to encounter God’s un-conditional charity opening up to usif we allow God’s dominion to be es-tablished over our lives. Jesus too re-iterates in the story, what we need toexperience this love is to have faithand hope in Him.

Gaze at our sonshipIn our day to day affairs of life, we

gather and would love to yield into a

lot of pressure to be in control.We manage our lives, our respon-

sibilities, our positions as if Jesus isnon-existent.

We are also often sucked into thevalues of the society. Therefore weforget God. To let God take control ofour lives, it often requires patience andan inner disposition to be still in thehope that Lord will lead us to the bestplatforms.

Just gaze at the centurion’s innerdisposition in this story. Once hegives his servant’s condition to theLord, he had faith to believe in Jesusand was peaceful and calm until he gothome to discover what Lord had ac-complished for him.

Through the words of Isaiah, letus also gaze at the ultimate authorityof God that will rise up over the world.

Prayer Starter (Isaiah 2: 1-5)This is what Isaiah son of Amoz

saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:In the last days the mountain of

the Lord's temple will be establishedas the highest of the mountains; it willbe exalted above the hills, and all na-tions will stream to it. Manypeoples will come and say, ”Come, letus go up to the mountain of the Lord,to the temple of the God of Jacob. Hewill teach us his ways, so that we maywalk in his paths.” The law will go outfrom Zion, the word of the Lord fromJerusalem. He will judge between thenations and will settle disputes formany peoples. They will beat theirswords into plow shares and theirspears into pruning hooks. Nation willnot take up sword against nation, norwill they train for war anymore. Come,descendants of Jacob, let us walk inthe light of the Lord


39

“Walk in the Spirit” Publication Including postage - For six months Rs. 235/=

For 12 months Rs. 470/= Money Orders/Cheques to be drawn only in favour of “Kithudana

Pubuduwa” payable at (Post Office) Walpola (W.P.) Pubudu Headquarters - Sri Prasansaramaya, Walpola

Ragama, Sri Lanka. Tel. No. 011-2230300, 011-5764123 Fax No. 011-2231490 E-Mail: [email protected] Web: www.pubuduwa.org

Press: Pubudu Press, 452, National Basilica Avenue, RagamaTel: 011-5288343/344 Fax :011-2958439E-Mail: [email protected], [email protected]

Distribution: Pubudu Publication & Distribution ServiceSri PrasansaramayaWalpola, Ragama.Tel: 011-2230300, 011-2231490, 011-5764123

Places from which the Walk in the Spirit publication can be obtained:

Kithu Dana Pubuduwa, 7th Floor, Paul VI Centre,Malwatte Road, Colombo 11. 011-2325132 / 011-5736240Sri Ramyaramaya, Palakudawa, Talawila Church 032-3325688 / 032-5678645Sri Christudharmaramaya, Deduru Oya,Manuwangama, Chilaw 032-2221979 / 032-5675585Pubudu Nivasa, Dankotuwa 031-3617917Pubudu Nivasa, Negombo 031-2222256 / 031-5675763Christu Centre, Ja-Ela 011-2243301 / 011-5736834

Cost: Rs. 17/=

Application for obtaining the publication by post.Name:

...................................................................................................To be sent to (Address) ..........................................................................

.....................................................................................For six/twelve months from ................. 20 till .............20Money Order/Cheque for Rs. ............. is sent herewith.Date:...............

.................................... Signature

WALK IN THE SPIRIT




Walk in the Spirit - November 2015

THE COVER STORY

ISSN 1391-5967

The pelican was thought to be particularlyattentive to her young, to the point of provid-ing her own blood by wounding her ownbreast, thus sacrificing her life, when no otherfood was available.

The sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ ofHis life for our salvation, and the gift of Hisbody and blood for our nourishment in theHoly Eucharist was symbolized by the Peli-can in early Christian tradition.

“In love, Jesus Christ gladly permitted Him-self to be wounded.”

Therefore,

O Lord, in receiving a touch of love suchas Yours would enable us to love in a waywhich permits the wounding of ourselves andthe sacrificing of ourselves for the sake ofthe growth of others.

walk in the spirit nov. 2015

Documents