Walk In the Spirit October 2016

WALK IN THE SPIRIT October 2016 Volume 10 Issue 15

"The Lord is with you. Be awake"

ISSN 1391-5967

Publication: Fr. Siri Oscar Abayaratne Kithu Dana Pubuduwa

SHARING ON PRAYER October 2016

We are faced with the paradox of Jesus – the bearer of God’s sovereignty on one side and on the other the obedient servant of God. His consciousness as to His being God’s Son uniquely and Son of Man simultaneously gained in depth according as the Spirit led Him. The mystery that is God, His utter transcendence, doubtless overwhelmed Him so much so that when asked for a lesson on Prayer, He could begin by saying “Abba, Holy be Your Name”.

Fr. Siri Oscar Abayaratn

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Saturday 1st October 2016

St. Therese of the Child Jesus

Isaiah:66/10-14 Psalm:131/1-3 Matthew:18/1-4

The First Proclamation Rejoice with Jerusalem, be glad for her, all you who love her! Rejoice, rejoice with her, all you who mourned her! So that you may be suckled and satisfied from her consoling breast, so that you may drink deep with delight from her generous nipple. For Yahweh says this: Look, I am going to send peace flowing over her like a river, and like a stream in spate the glory of the nations.

You will be suckled, carried on her hip and fondled in her lap.

As a mother comforts a child, so I shall comfort you; you will be comforted in Jerusalem. At the sight your heart will rejoice, and your limbs regain vigour like the grass. To his servants Yahweh will reveal his hand, but to his enemies his fury.

Fix your gaze on Jesus

O Comforter, the Whole Spirit of God, You who are making us more connected to and aware of the whole of the Creation, continue to increase our relationship with 'What Is'....

Jerusalem - what image does this bring to our minds today? More importantly, what was the significance / relevance / meaning for the audience Isaiah was addressing? And again, what did it mean to Jesus the Christ?

For the Hebrews/Jews, Jerusalem was the physical location for the "Ark of the Lord". It was the place where the presence of the Most High became physically manifest; where tales of the Glorious deeds of the Lord were repeated without count and where rejoicing was continuous and unimpeded.

This was the place where everyone wanted to go and be all their lives; the break we all desire from the humdrum of daily existence; the mountain top exhilarating experience craved by all; expressed using the example evoking the most satisfying comforting and secure experience stored in our sub-conscious (of feeding at our mothers' breast) .. the 'deep drink of delight from her generous nipple'.

So, is Isaiah calling for all to come physically to the metropolis? Or is this an exhortation to experience the Presence of the Lord, the Manifestation of the Most High in the "Here and Now" for the Believers; the Faithful? In other words, to enter in to that sublime state of Being where you enjoy the presence and comfort of the Most High WHERE-EVER YOU ARE ..

Know ye that "If" You care to remain in S/His presence, you will experience peace flowing over You like a river, and the glory of the nations which follow You will be like a stream in spate...do choose this with all your heart and mind; turning anew towards the Most High; turning away from all other considerations preventing us from realising this higher state of being.. like children are, when engaged in intense play....

Prayer Starter

Most blessed and Most High Lord, we are indeed conflicted; fallen in our thinking and our beliefs. We generate deep dissatisfaction for ourselves in our habitual thought patterns. Coach us in becoming aware, that we may minutely examine the pathways we traverse; to "Test everything" so that we become conscious of what we sow, consciously change what we sow thereby reaping much more desirous results there-on, and thereby, learn to "Hold Fast on to that which is Good".

Let us pray...

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Sunday 2nd October 2016 Habakkuk:1/2-3;2/2-4 Psalm: 95/1-2,6--9 2 Timothy:1/6-8,13-14 Luke:17/5-10 Introduction To cultivate faith in Jesus is to become a man like Jesus. To sustain faith in Jesus is to live like Jesus. Jesus was the happiest and the most joyful man ever lived here on earth for He had the perfect faith. The deeper one’s faith is, the more exuberant one’s deep-seated joy becomes. Faithfulness means the stability of the heart and only such people can become deeply loyal to their spouses, friends, country, church, creed, culture, convictions and vocations.

Faith is toiling, labouring, sweating and suffering without expecting immediate results during one’s life time.

Faith is its own reward for we may not be able to see the fruits of our own toiling in our life time. Faith assures me, guarantees me, promises me that it will bring forth fruit thirtyfold, sixtyfold and a hundredfold unbeknownst to us. Faith will shatter, scatter and litter our conventional and complacent ways of thinking and our frozen lazy, cozy and rosy habits. It challenges our neat and ready-made categories about what is to be human.

Faith is the transvaluation of all our cherished human values. Faith transforms, purifies, challenges and deepens our conventional cultural values • To cultivate faith in Jesus is to be-

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time come a man like Jesus. To sustain faith in Jesus is to live like Jesus. Jesus was the happiest and the most joyful man ever lived here on earth for He had the perfect faith. The deeper one’s faith is, the more exuberant one’s deep-seated joy becomes. Faithfulness means the stability of the heart and only such people can become deeply loyal to their spouses, friends, country, church, creed, culture, convictions and vocations.

Faith is the transvaluation of all our cherished human values. Faith transforms, purifies, challenges and deepens our conventional cultural values.

Entrance Antiphon Within your will, O Lord, all things are established, and there is none that can resist your will.

For you have made all things, the heaven and the earth, and all that is held within the circle of heaven; you are the Lord of all.

The First Proclamation O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you, "Violence!" and you will not save? Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble?

Destruction and violence are before me; strive and contention arise.

Then the Lord answered me and said: Write the vision; make it plain on tablets. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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come, it will not delay.

Prayerful Awareness Look at the proud! Their spirit is Praying purifies our faith and faith not right in them, but the righteous strengthens and increases our capacity live by their faith. to pray Lord Jesus, help us to become The Gospel Proclamation men and women of prayer.

Prayer is the heightened awareness, The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" The Lord replied, "If heightened consciousness, of everyyou could say to this mulberry tree, 'Be thing that is going on in the universe. uprooted and planted in the sea, and it Prayer purifies one’s whole existence. would obey you.

Prayer is always a joy, never an extra 'Who among you would say to your burden, or an obligation or a duty. The slave who has just come in from plowing prayerful person is the most joyful or tending sheep in the field, 'come here person. To pray is to swim in God, to at once and take your place at the table'? do skiing and skating in God, to dance Would you not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, put on your apron Tango and Flamenco in God. When and serve me while I eat and drink; later one prays, one becomes a dancing you may eat and drink'? Do you thank star, a ballerina. the slave for doing what was commandPrayer is a spiritual ballet, a souled? So you also, when you have done all ful concert, a spiritual symphony that you were ordered to do, say, 'We where God is the orchestra conductor. are worthless slaves; we have done only Prayerful life is an orchestral concert. what we ought to have done!'"

To pray is to grow in courage and love.

The Second Proclamation Prayer is a courageous act, a loving For this reason I remind you deed. To live prayerfully in God is to to rekindle the gift of God that is live joyfully. within you through the laying on One’s whole existences is an act of of my hands; for God did not give contemplative prayer. To live is to pray us a spirit of cowardice, but rather ceaselessly and we live as good as we a spirit of power and of love and of pray. Not to pray, on the contrary, is to self-discipline. live like a walking cadaver.

Do not be ashamed, then, of the Prayer Starter testimony about our Lord or of me What the apostles asked of the his prisoner, but join with me in Lord “ Increase our faith” is in itself suffering for the gospel, relying on a prayer.

Every prayer we utter is the power of God,... an act of faith. Prayer and faith are Hold to the standard of sound intimately interconnected. Together teaching that you have heard from with the apostles, we ought to pray me, in the faith and love that are ceaselessly, “Increase our faith”. The in Christ Jesus. Guard the good desire to pray is also a prayer. Lord, treasure entrusted to you, with the give us the desire to pray always. help of the Holy Spirit living in us.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Monday 3rd October 2016 Galatians:1/6-12 Psalm: 111/1-2,7-10 Luke:10/25-37 The Gospel Proclamation Please read Luke 10/25-37 prayerfully.

Gaze on Jesus A teacher of the Law who may have heard the people saying that unlike the teachers of the Law Jesus teaches with authority, comes to test Jesus and wants to know what he should do to receive eternal life. When Jesus tells him to live according to the first two Commandments with which he is very familiar, he wants to know who is his neighbor. Jesus then related the parable of the good Samaritan. Ere the priest and the Levite passed by without even looking at the wounded man lying on the road. It is a Samaritan who was more or less despised by the Jews who was moved with compassion and did all that had to be done to give relief to the helpless man. He would have expected to be given the precise limits of his obligation. Whom was he supposed to look after? Member of his family, people of his own race? Or perhaps everybody? It is significant that Jesus wants the teacher of the Law to say which of the three made himself a neighbor to the wounded man. It is as if he said 'do not try to figure out who is our neighbour, listen instead to the call within you and become a neighbor, be close to our brother, sister in need.'

When the teacher of the Law said that it was the one who had mercy on the man Jesus wants him also to go and do the same.

Prayerful Awareness

As long as we see the command to love as an obligation, we are not

loving as God wants. Love does not consist simply in being moved by another person’s distress. We can see how the Samaritan stopped by in spite of it being a dangerous place and went all out to provide all that was necessary for the helpless and wounded man.

Instead of just being charitable, he took unconditional and uncalculated risks for a stranger. We too must be good Samaritans to those who have fallen along the way. With this example Jesus also makes us see that, many times, those who seem to be religious officials, or who believe they fulfill the Law, are incapable of loving. For the Jews, neighbours were their own fellow Israelites worshipping the same religion, but for Jesus true love leads one to give up any discrimination.

The First Proclamation Most of those in the Galatian community were of pagan origin. There were also some of Jewish origin and they would not accept that Jesus had come to save all mankind and not only the Jews and that they are no longer the ‘people of God’. The Gospel as they understood it was not the “Good News” for everybody; it was another gospel. Paul says that he did not begin to preach on his own and that he was sent and his preaching is in agreement with the accepted doctrine of the church. Paul also says that the message he preached is not of human origin, but which he received through a revelation from Christ Jesus.

Prayer Starter

Lord Jesus, may I always bear in mind that I am a neighbour in the Christian sense to anyone in need irrespective of his race, creed or social status and that when I reach out and minister to them I am doing so to those in whom You are abandoned.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Tuesday 4th October 2016

Galatians:1/13-24 Psalm: 139/1-3, 13-15 Luke:10/38-42 The Gospel Proclamation

St. Francis of Assisi The First Proclamation You have heard no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaisim. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles. I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus....

Prayerful Awareness

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not St. Paul is writing about his converbe taken away from her." sion experience to the Galatians. His life was one full of zealous religious Prayerful Awareness activity as Saul the persecutor of the It is a simple homely event. Jesus Christian Church. He does not go again enters the house of Lazarus. Martha into preaching mode. But has gone into takes a lot of trouble to make Jesus the Arabian desert to be alone with the comfortable. Mary simply sits at His Lord. He then comes back to Damascus feet and listens. Jesus commends the to preach the religion revealed to him by listening attitude of Mary. "Martha, Jesus the Risen Lord. When one reads Martha, you are anxious and trou- the letters of St. Paul one is struck by bled about many things. One thing the depth and richness of the revelations is needful. Mary has chosen the good received by him. Most of these revelaportion which shall not be taken tions were received over long periods of time spent in meditation in jails or house from her."

What we absorb by listening, seated arrest and we can assume voluntary at the Lord's feet will never be taken times spent alone in the desert.

We all are well aware of the times away from us. Let us analyze a typical day. How do I spend my time? From Jesus spent listening to the Father.

So shall we too who are sons the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep, do I take breaks to listen to the and daughters of God, spend time, Lord? Or is it one rush from one activity may be a few minutes in spaced out to another Whether it is religious or modules before the Lord in addition secular, activity is activity The Lord to 'My Hour'. expects us to sit at His feet and listen Prayer Starter to Him when He visits.

Lord teach me to listen.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Wednesday 5th October 2016 Galatians: 2/1-2, 7-14 Psalm: 117/1-2 Luke:11/1-4 Gospel Proclamation Please read Luke 11/1-4 meditatively.

Prayerful Awareness

mankind from such a fate.

We know Jesus spent a considerable time in prayer in communion with the Father, and at times spent the whole night in prayer to discern Abba Father’s Will how to plan and execute His ministry on earth, i.e. to bring about / restore His Father’s Kingdom, which was the sole purpose of His life, towards which He had to offer Himself in sacrifice as atonement for mankind’s sin. Through His sacrificial death and resurrection He was able to release His Holy Spirit to the fallen universe/s to restore God’s sonship to those who believe and willingly submit to His Will. In Romans 8:14, St. Paul tells us: ‘those who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children’. That is they willingly come under God’s jurisdiction of Love, enjoying the gifts (1 Cor. 12:411) and fruits (Galatians, 5:22-25) of His Holy Spirit! But this decision to be led by the Spirit is not a one off decision for us human beings because we know we are behest with temptations that make us act in ways which are contrary to unconditional Love, at least momentarily, until we awaken, or someone else awakens us, to our error and we realize we need to submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit anew. We see this in action in the lives of the Apostles in today’s First Proclamation, where the first part shows the Apostles all acting in accord with God’s will, but in verses 11-14 we see some insincerity creeping in and St. Paul awakens St. Peter of his error. That is why we say we need to constantly remind ourselves (awaken) to be led by the Spirit, in order for us to be able to ‘Walk in the Spirit’ continuously!

Prayer Starter (Psalm (117/1-2)

The disciple’s plea ‘Teach us to pray’ elicits a response which has come to be popularly known as the Lord’s Prayer, which succinctly summarises Christian living, on which volumes and volumes have been written analyzing what it contains! For today, let us focus on “your kingdom come”!

Kingdom denotes an area of jurisdiction, and God’s Kingdom would then be where His Will is supreme. Let us reflect, what is God’s Will? I think it is contained in the greatest Commandment/s of all, Love your God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and love others as you love yourself (do unto others as you would be done by!). For God is Love, and God created the universe/s and our world in Love, in order to share His Love with the Creation! And God’s Love is Holy, Universal, Sacrificial, Humble/Serving, Unceasing and Unconditional, etc. i.e. completely different from that of the world. And God’s Will is that we love one another as He loves us! The world’s normal or default way of operating is based on ego, or self-interest. To me, the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden represented the temptation to be led by self-interest instead of other-centredness, and this utter selfishness in most individuals and nations is what leads to all the exploitation, strife, wars, and pollution in the world, which will, left to itself, Alleluia! Praise Yahweh, all nations, lead to the total annihilation of mankind! extol him, all peoples, for his faithful love That is why our Lord Jesus Christ will is strong and his constancy never-ending. have to / promises to, intervene at the Praise the Lord! Alleluia! Amen! last moment, in the nick of time, to save

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Thursday 6th October 2016 Galatians:3/1-5 Psalm: Luke 1/69-75 Luke:11/5-13 The Gospel Proclamation And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived and I have nothing to set before him.' And he answers from within, 'Do not bother me, the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

"So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you, search, and you will find, knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Prayerful Awareness Midnight is a time to be inside the house, lock the doors and sleep.

We certainly do not expect visitors at midnight. Back in the times when this parable was told by Jesus, people would have generally gone to bed at dusk, and be awake at dawn. There

certainly was no television, internet or even electricity to keep you up until midnight. So the response of the man in the house is normal and the man knocking on the door, asking for not one but three loafs of bread, is being quite unreasonable. Why does the man ask for three loafs of bread when only one friend has arrived? Yet, due to the persistence, the sleeping man gets up from the comfort of his bed and gives to his friend what has been requested.

Thus the man is able to maintain his friendship.

Gaze at Jesus Jesus could see the immense necessity of the Holy Spirit Who is God’s love personified. Without being aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit, His guidance, His gifts and His fruits, the followers would not be able to continue the work of Jesus. So He asks us to pray without ceasing for the Holy Spirit. Jesus is also certain, that when we pray without ceasing to receive the Holy Spirit, the Father will grant it. In John 14: 16-17, Jesus Himself prays with certainty, and unceasingly into eternity, that we may receive the Holy Spirit to abide with us forever.

My Sonship

Therefore, we know that we have already received the Holy Spirit. Pray unceasingly to not be of the world…

Prayer Starter Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel, for he has visited and brought redemption to His people. He has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of David his servant, even as he promised through the might of his holy prophets from of old, salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us... (Luke 1:68....)

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Friday 7th October 2016

Acts: 1/12-14 Psalm: Luke:1/46-55 Luke: 1/26-38 Our Lady of the Rosary The origin of the Rosary itself dates to a revelation in a vision by Our Lady herself to St. Dominic in the 13th Century. It was popularized in Northern France and Flanders. Later it spread to the rest of Europe. Pope Leo X accorded the Rosary official approbation in 1520 and went on to declare October the month of the Holy Rosary. In 1716 the feast was permanently placed on the Liturgical Calendar of the Universal Church. The Rosary is a perfect form of prayerful tribute to the Trinity, commencing as it does with the recitation of the Apostles' Creed, followed by the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Doxology, highlighting the significance of the Lord's Prayer, which remains the key prayer of the Rosary.

The Gospel Proclamation In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! the Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus, the Son of the Most High, ..." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most High will overshadow you, therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And Mary said "Here am I, the servant of the Lord, let it be with

Our Lady of the Rosary me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

Prayerful Awareness "Reason dictates that if any one of these men actually came from God, the least thing that God could do to support his claim would be to pre-announce His coming. Automobile manufacturers tell their customers when to expect a new model. If God sent anyone from Himself, or if He came Himself with a vitally important message for all men, it would seem reasonable that He would first let men know when His messenger was coming, where He would be born, where He would live, the doctrine He would teach, the enemies He would make, the programme He would adopt for the future, and the manner of His death.

By the extent to which the messenger conformed with these announcements, one could judge the validity of his claims.

(Archbishop F.J.Sheen).

In the responsorial Psalm we have the Magnificat. Surely it is one of the great hymns of the Church and is closely related to Hannah's song of praise in 1 Samuel 2/1-10. Christianity tolls the knell on pride. If one lives beside Christ, all traces of pride will disappear. The secret is Christ enables us to have a clear view of our innermost being effecting that moral revolution. The temporal prestige and labels are regarded as rubbish. Christ also tolls the knell on social grades. A true follower does not regard anyone beneath or inferior to him or her. A noteworthy characteristic of a Christian is that he is always out not to hoard but to share.

He is ready not to store but to give away and no surplus stores. "Her poem ends by acclaiming the revolution He will inaugurate with the unseating of the mighty and the exaltation of the humble."

(Archbishop F.J.Sheen) Prayer Starter Help us to see the things You've done in our lives and magnify You. Amen.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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zzY=oaOd;auhdfKkS" uu Tnjykafiag jkaokd kuialdr lrĂą' ud l< hq;= l=ulaÂąhs ug wK l< uekjZZ

Saturday 8th October 2016 Galatians:3/22-29 Psalm: 105/2-7 Luke: 11/27-28 The First Proclamation As it is, scripture makes no exception when it says that sin is master everywhere; so the promise can be given only by faith in Jesus Christ to those who have this faith. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the Law, locked up to wait for the faith which would eventually be revealed to us. So the Law was serving as a slave to look after us, to lead us to Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But now that faith has come we are no longer under a slave looking after us; for all of you are the children of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus, since every one of you that has been baptised has been clothed in Christ. There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither slave nor freeman, there can be neither male nor female -- for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And simply by being Christ's, you are that progeny of Abraham, the heirs named in the promise.

Fix your gaze on Jesus Dear Lord, we now understand that the whole of creation is but the means for arriving at the goal (intent) of begetting progeny; of eliciting children for you. Given the fundamental nature of everything being 'Energy' or 'Mind', manifestation necessitates rules, and these nature's rules are in place.

Everything is bound together, each component of the creation relates to every other component in accord with these rules. We, the sentient, or in other words thought-evolving-beings, are called upon to discover these rules, so

that we could enter in to and experience the true nature of 'All-That-Is'; which was/is/will be is Love. Just as science has and is in the process of discovering laws of nature, so exist laws relating to the thoughts we choose! To the extent we become conscious of the workings of these 'Thought Laws', we are able to manifest the called upon relationship with the Creator. And, this exactly is what our loving 'Father' is striving to do down through the ages, through the creation, and the prophets, and the priests and then through Jesus, the Anointed; then again, finally through the Whole of His Spirit enkindling!

The law does not teach a living/ saving knowledge; but, by its rites and ceremonies, especially by its sacrifices, it will touch our corrupted hearts, pointing us towards Christ, that we might be justified by faith. We shall all enjoy a clearer discovery of Divine grace and mercy regardless of human crafted separations, ultimately baseless. Most men continue to be in love with their sins, blinded and lulled asleep by Satan through worldly pleasures, interests, and pursuits. But the awakened sinner brought to his senses by his sufferings and merits, discovers his dreadful condition, and feels that the mercy and grace of God form his only hope, that he may be justified by faith. Then the law, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, becomes his loved rule of duty, and his standard for daily self-examination.

As Jesus so succinctly stated, 'More blessed still are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'

Prayer Starter Today, With the Holy Spirit making us conscious of the inner processing we do, we are able to say with conviction, "The Lord IS with me; I shall stay awake"..

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Sunday 9th October 2016

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 Kings: 5/14-17 Psalm: 98/1-4 2 Timothy: 2/8-13 Luke:17/11-19 Introduction The healing we can receive from God is in proportion to our faith. Not to believe in God is to remain and become sickly both physically and spiritually. Divine healing is divine life entering in to our veins. Asking for his mercy on us is an act of faith too.

The more we give, the more we receive. When we stop giving and sharing, we also stop receiving and growing spiritually. Giving and receiving become the same in the final reckoning. Whatever is not shared with others will be lost permanently.

What is lost is the real cost of life.

Whatsoever is so lost due to our selfishness can never be recovered or redeemed.

What do we do when we receive a gift? Do we hide it, keep it to ourselves or throw it away? Or do we not break it open, unwrap it, expose it and share it with others? To share it is to bless it and be thankful for it. In that way, we could truly do justice to the gift received. When we receive a gift we receive much more than a gift. A gift is a symbol of a bigger reality; that is, the gift makes us get in touch with the Giver, the Giver of all gifts and all

good things.

Life is a precious gift from God and therefore we do not own our life. It has been given to us as a gift to be broken, blessed, given away and shared with others. To live is to share and to live fully is to share fully. As long as there is no giving of oneself, there is no real giving. Oneself as a gift is the real giving and the real gift.

Entrance Antiphon If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?

But with you is found forgiveness, O God of Israel.

The First Proclamation So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.

Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant." But he said, "As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing!" He urged him to accept it, but he refused. Then Naaman said, "If not, please let two mule-loads of earth be given to your servant;

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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for your servant will no longer offer him, we will also live with him; if we burnt offering or sacrifice to any god endure, we will also reign with him; except the Lord. if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains The Gospel Proclamation faithful - for he cannot deny himself.

On the way to Jerusalem JePrayerful Awareness sus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As The unconditional love of God for he entered a village, ten lepers us and forgiveness of our sins are the approached him. Keeping their dis- two sides of the same coin and Jesus tance, they called out saying, "Jesus, is the embodiment, emblem and conMaster, have mercy on us!". When crete manifestation of that covenantal he saw them, he said to them "Go relationship. The one who loves forand show yourselves to the priests." gives and the one who forgives loves And as they went, they were made too. To love is to forgive and to forgive clean. Then one of them when he is to promote life. Forgiveness is the saw that he was healed, turned back, natural fruit of love. Love and forpraising God with a loud voice. He giveness took flesh in Jesus and made prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and manifest and concretised on the cross thanked him. And he was a Samar.Love unfreezes cold hearts and itan. Then Jesus asked, "Were not melts frozen sentiments. In order to ten made clean? But the other nine, love forever, we need to love with where are they? Was none of them the love of Christ. Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love is confound to return and give praise to crete, particular, special and specific God except this foreigner?" Then he but never abstract, vague or shallow. said to him, "Get up and go on your Jesus is the greatest practitioner ever way; your faith has made you well." of that unrestricted love and infinite The Second Proclamation

humility and part of our humility must be to accept everything as a gift from God. All our talents, skills, potentialities, wealth and intelligence are a direct gift from God. But to live this realisation out in oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daily life is the ultimate test of deep humility.

It takes a lot of humility to live a life of humility.

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David - that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal.

But the word of God is not chained.

Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may Prayer Starter also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The Lord, give us the grace to depend saying is sure: If we have died with on Your healing always.

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Monday 10th October 2016 Galatians:4/22-24, 20-27,31-5/1 Psalm: 113/1-7 Luke:11/29-32 The Gospel Proclamation When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here! The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!

Prayerful Awareness

of awe, wonder, amazement and even reverence. But it will last only for a limited period of time and would very rarely cause a transformation in the observers. It might stir a thirst to have more of the same experiences but would hardly ever cause a change in their lives. In short it has more or less only entertainment value.

Jesus is not willing to be an entertainer for the crowds who flock to Him. He rather appreciates those who come to Him with a willingness to repent and begin a new life. This is what the people of Nineveh did after hearing what the prophet Jonah had to say about their behavior and the response of the Queen of the South after hearing the wisdom of King Solomon.

Our sonship

Let us ask ourselves two important questions: 1. Who is Jesus to me? Is He any less than my Savior and my Lord? Have I truly encountered Him or at least permitted Him to encounter me? 2. How has Jesus influenced my life? Has the “encounter” with Him changed the way I look at life and the Crowds will come when some- way I look at the world? In short have thing extraordinary happens or is I taken steps to “REPENT”? displayed. The following are a few Prayer Starter phenomena that attract the attention O Holy Spirit! Give me a thirst of people: 1) Something mysterious to encounter Jesus. Give me eyes to or magical. 2) Someone or something see Jesus when He comes to meet me. that is famous. 3) Something enorGive me ears to hear and listen to Him mously large. 4) Anything ‘old’, ‘anwhen He speaks.

Give me a repentant cestral’. 5) Something natural, wild. heart to turn around to Him Who is 6) Something beautiful, magnificent.

The Way……….

All these things will arouse a sense

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zzY=oaOd;auhdfKkS" uu Tnjykafiag jkaokd kuialdr lrĂą' ud l< hq;= l=ulaÂąhs ug wK l< uekjZZ

Tuesday 11th October 2016 Galatians:5/1-6 Psalm: 119/43-45,47-48 Luke:11/37-41 Gospel Proclamation After He had spoken, a Pharisee invited Him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat.

The Pharisee was amazed to see that He did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. The Lord said to him, 'Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.

Prayerful Awareness Lord Jesus, would have purposely not washed His hands in front of the Pharisees, knowing that they were watching to find fault with Him. Knowing what kind of characters the Pharisees were, Lord guides them, that it is pointless in trying to show others that they are pure, from outside when their insides were full of misery, polluted with sin and lust for the desires of the world. Let us ponder and see, as we too sometimes could fall into this category, knowingly or unknowingly.

Are we following the rules of the world for what is right and wrong and still live in slavery, or are we following the Teachings of our Lord and are Free in Christ Jesus, enjoying the Love of our Creator, to be just, loving and kind to everyone. Do we love our God, Thank and Praise Him for everything and all the Blessings and for His Great Love and Mercy for us. If we truly love Him, then, we can love everyone else, even

St. John XXIII, Pope the ones who do wrong against us, as Jesus Christ did when suffering on the cross ("Father, forgive them, they know not what they do"- St. Luke 23:34). Do we take steps to raise others in our actions, in our words and in our thoughts and prayers. Lord requests us to love even the ones who do wrong to us and pray for the ones who prosecute us (St. Mathew 5:44). We through the Holy Spirit of God are guided to have Faith, Hope and Righteousness, working with the Love that flows from God, the Love that guides all of us to the ultimate Salvation, the Gift of God. Pharisees did not know that the person whom they were trying to teach was the one to be elevated to the throne of the entire Kingdom of God. If they had known who Jesus was, would the Pharisees have treated Lord in this manner? This is the case with most of us, we try to judge others from what we have heard or what we know. Pharisees knew from the old scripture that Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem and expected Him from a royal or priestly high class family, and Jesus for them was from Nazareth from an ordinary family (Although from descendants of King David). Although Son of God, Jesus Christ as Son of Man was the most humble person ever lived. He did not want to keep everything for Himself and wanted to share it with us. This is why we are called to follow His path and fulfill the Will of God to inherit the kingdom of God. Prayer Starter God our Loving Father, I Thank You for Your Great Love for me and for bringing me into this world to enjoy Your Love and to share it with each other and bring Glory to You in everything I do, in every word I speak and in every thought of mine, Amen.

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Wednesday 12th September 2016 Galatians:5/18-25 Psalm: 1/1-4, 6 Luke:11/42-46 First Proclamation But when you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. When self-indulgence is at work the results are obvious: sexual vice, impurity, and sensuality, the worship of false gods and sorcery; antagonisms and rivalry, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels, disagreements, factions and malice, drunkenness, orgies and all such things. And .... people who behave in these ways will not inherit the kingdom of God. On the other hand the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control; no law can touch such things as these. All who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified self with all its passions and its desires.

Since we are living by the Spirit, let our behaviour be guided by the Spirit.

Gospel Proclamation But alas for you Pharisees, because you pay your tithe of mint and rue and all sorts of garden herbs and neglect justice and the love of God! .....Alas for you Pharisees, because you like to take the seats of honour in the synagogues and to be greeted respectfully in the market squares! Alas for you, because you are like the unmarked tombs that people walk on without knowing it!'

A lawyer then spoke up. 'Master,' he said, 'when you speak like this you insult us too.' But he said, 'Alas for you lawyers as well, because you load on people burdens that are unendurable, burdens that you yourselves do not touch with your fingertips.

Prayerful Awareness Let us enter into contemplative

prayer on today’s Proclamations which are about the contrasting behaviours of people led by the Holy Spirit and those who are not, which are self-explanatory in the Proclamations, In Romans 8:14, St. Paul tells us: ‘those who are led by God’s Spirit are God’s children’. That is they willingly come under God’s jurisdiction of Love, and are willing to follow His guidelines / to do His Will. God is Love (1 John 4:7-21) and God’s Will is that we love one another as He loves us.

God’s Love is Holy, Universal, Sacrificial, Humble/ Serving, Unceasing and Unconditional, etc. i.e. completely different from that of the evil spirits.

The dictates of the evil one is to be self-centred, always making decisions in a totally selfish manner, and the fruits of these spirits are the evils described in the second para of today’s First Proclamation, and also in the Gospel Proclamation where our Lord Jesus Christ reprimands the Pharisees and Sadducees for pretending to do God’s Will to the letter, but neglecting Justice and Love!

It is not easy to Love the way God expects us to love one another, but we are enabled to do the seemingly impossible with the power of God’s Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17). The fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians, 5:22-25) are described in the latter part of today’s First Proclamation, and the Psalm below.

Prayer Starter (Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6) How blessed is anyone who rejects the advice of the wicked and does not take a stand in the path that sinners tread, nor a seat in company with cynics, but who delights in the law of Yahweh and murmurs his law day and night.

Such a one is like a tree planted near streams; it bears fruit in season and its leaves never wither, and every project succeeds.....

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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zzY=oaOd;auhdfKkS" uu Tnjykafiag jkaokd kuialdr lrñ' ud l< hq;= l=ula±hs ug wK l< uekjZZ

Thursday 13th October 2016 Ephesians:1/1-10 Psalm: 98/1-6 Luke: 11/47-54

The Gospel Proclamation Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom our ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them and you build their tombs.

Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,' so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.

Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves and you hindered those who were entering.

When he went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile toward him and to cross-examine him about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

Gaze at Jesus

key (Holy Spirit) to the gift of knowledge?

One could say that the gift of knowledge helps a person to embrace the truths of faith. Then, formed by these truths and guided by the Holy Spirit, the person makes correct judgments regarding earthly things and how they are related to eternal life and Christian perfection.

As such, the knowledge of these created things leads one to the Creator.

The created things are not seen as ends in themselves and held onto tightly, so that they become idols or obstacles to union with God; rather, they are instruments that help us appreciate the majesty of God and over which we must be good stewards" (from catholicstraightanswers.com) Prayerful Awareness Being an “expert in the law”, that is, giving precedence to things that are created rather than the creator, can take “away the key to knowledge” if it is seen as an “ends in themselves and held onto tightly”.

In today’s times, what things might we see as an ends in themselves and therefore have become idols?

Is it money and wealth, occupation, education? It is possible to use these created things as an instrument to appreciate the majesty of God? Prayer Starter

When Jesus said “knowledge”, Sing a new song to the Lord who He might have meant the kingdom has done marvelous deeds. Whose value of the gift of knowledge and right hand and holy arm have won not the earthly value of intelligence. the victory.

What happens when we have the

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Friday 14h October 2016

St. Callistus I, Pope & Martyr

Ephesians:1/11-14 Psalm:33/1-2, 4-5,12-13 Luke: 12/1-7 St. Calistus He had been Archdeacon of Rome under Pope Zephyrinus and when the Pope died in 217 he was elected Pope.

He was a staunch supporter of Orthodox Catholic beliefs and held the middle ground between those who advocated extreme laxity and the advocates of rigour in discipline. Among his disciplinary regulations there is also one which admitted, contrary to Roman civil law, the validity of marriages between patricians and plebians or slaves. Though there was no official persecution he was killed in a popular disturbance caused by the pagan rabble, by being thrown headlong from a high window.

The Gospel Proclamation

o

Meanwhile when the crowd gathered by the thousands, ... he began to speak first to his disciples, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.

Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.

"I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will warn you whom to fear; fear him who, after he has killed has authority to cast into hell. ... Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? .... But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Prayerful Awareness The way of the Gospel is always opposed by the forces of evil or there

is an endless war between the two. The ideas presented here do not have a close connection but are dominant. A hypocrite harbours insincerity and is not genuine.

Such a person is detested by God. God prefers an honest sinner to someone who pretends to be good. The correct attitude to life is fearlessness. One can or it is possible to destroy another's life but the soul is untouchable. The soul is under God's command and He alone has authority over it. He alone is to be feared and not man who cannot touch the soul. Divine protection is the most detailed of all. God says, "I will save those who love me and will protect those who acknowledge me as Lord." (Ps. 91/14) "Who will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases. (Ps. 91/3) Then we are told of the unforgivable sin - the sins against the Holy Spirit. In the background there were Pharisees who had attributed Jesus' miracles (cures) to the devil. When they clearly saw what Jesus had done they said He performed the miracles with the power of Beelzebul.

In the first proclamation we have the reading taken from the Letter to the Ephesians, which speaks of God's plan of salvation. In it our understanding and will are satisfied. For its substance it has Christ and there is the duty of telling the truth. We are the carriers of this and it is not the private property of any one. "God has put His stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit He has promised." (Ephesians 1:13). As a proprietary mark the seal is put on something.

God the Father marks out the believer in Christ as His own property by the gift of the Holy Spirit at Baptism. God stamps the image of the Holy Spirit upon the Christian soul and we must be like wax to receive the same.

Prayer Starter Holy Spirit! Pour out the gift of the holy fear on us all. Amen.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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zzY=oaOd;auhdfKkS" uu Tnjykafiag jkaokd kuialdr lrĂą' ud l< hq;= l=ulaÂąhs ug wK l< uekjZZ

Saturday 15th October 2016 Ephesians:1/15-23 Psalm: 8/1-6 Luke:12/8-12 The First Proclamation

St. Theresa of Jesus, Virgin & Doctor your holy name be magnified..

God has laid up spiritual blessings for us in his Son the Lord Jesus; but we have to choose and draw nearer! A requirement for us to experience these blessings is for us to draw / fetch them in by prayer. True believers greatly want heavenly wisdom. Do you find that the best of us are unwilling to come under God's yoke, though there is no other way to find rest for the soul? Do we not for a little pleasure, often part with our peace? Were we to rebel less, and prayed more with and for each other, we should daily see more and more of what the promise of and hope of our calling is, and the riches of the Divine glory in this inheritance. It is highly desirable to really experience this feeling of the mighty power of Divine grace carrying on the work of faith in our souls.

We are nothing without Him; everything, with Him. Though it is difficult to bring a soul to believe fully in Christ, and to venture its' all in the hope of eternal life, the realization of every blessing hinges upon Jesus' righteousness. By being partakers of Christ himself, we come to be filled with the fullness of grace and glory in him.

Prayer Starter

That is why I, having once heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love for all God's holy people, have never failed to thank God for you and to remember you in my prayers. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, how rich is the glory of the heritage he offers among his holy people, and how extraordinarily great is the power that he has exercised for us believers; this accords with the strength of his power at work in Christ, the power which he exercised in raising him from the dead and enthroning him at his right hand, in heaven, far above every principality, ruling force, power or sovereignty, or any other name that can be named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet, and made him, I hear the refrain today, 'Sow in as he is above all things, the head of the Church; which is his Body, the accord with what you (really, really) fullness of him who is filled, all in all. wish to reap.....'

Let us start by sowing the Living Fix your gaze on Jesus Vibrant Word of God in our minds and Holy Lord, we proclaim that the hearts today, appealing to the Lord of 'Heaven and Earth express your glory' the Hosts to make our hearts fertile even though but faintly comprehending and fruitful.... the wonders of your mighty works in Let us repeat the mantra, "The Lord this creation; we could however not is in me and amongst us; I shall thereof even begin to understand or imagine the glory of Your Being, towards which be aware...." state you desire to evolve us all! May

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Sunday 16th October 2016 Twenty nineth Sunday of Ordinary Time Exodus: 17/8-13 Psalm:121/1-8 2 Timothy: 3/14-4/2 Luke: 18/1-8

Introduction When we work and journey towards something that cannot be perceived by our senses but are certain of its reality we need persistence.

The temptations against persistence are expectations of instant results, growing weary, being discouraged.

Today we are called upon to rely on the promises of God despite having to wait with patience and working with diligence.

Entrance Antiphon To you I call; for you will surely heed me, O God; turn your ear to me; hear my words. Guard me as the apple of your eye; in the shadow of your wings protect me.

First Proclamation In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel.

Moses, therefore, said to Joshua, “Pick out certain men, and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle. I will be standing on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him: he engaged Amalek in battle after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur. As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight, but when he

let his hands rest, Amalek had the better of the fight. Moses’ hands, however, grew tired; so they put a rock in place for him to sit on.

Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset.

And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Prayerful Awareness Moses who had resolute faith in God’s promises experiences exhaustion in carrying out his side of the bargain in the fulfillment of the promise of God. His spirit is willing but his flesh is weak. He willingly accepts the assistance of two of his companions. It is a lesson for us who intercede on behalf of ourselves and our loved ones. It is always wise to recruit the help of like-minded other brothers and sisters in our intercessory prayer. God will assuredly keep His promises.

Gospel Proclamation Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.

He said, “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’ For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that

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I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me, I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me." The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of His chosen ones who call out to Him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Gaze at Jesus Jesus reveals God the Father Whom He knows very well. He tells us how God will treat His chosen ones. Surely it is not because of the intensity of our bothering Him that God will answer our prayers; rather it is owing to the relationship that He has chosen to have with us. He is our loving God our Father and we are His children, no matter what.

The truth being this Jesus asks poignantly: “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

What is the faith that Jesus is talking about? It is the faith that God is our Father Who loves us.

Second Proclamation Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for

correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.

Our Sonship Paul assumes that those who will read the above letter will be those who have been taught the faith of their forefathers, read the scriptures containing their lived experience.

Paul recommends the scriptures as a point of reference for teaching, refutation, correction and training in righteousness.

Paul in other words gives us a frame of reference to persistently mold our lives and the lives of those with whom we are in community. He does not forget to tell us that leading such a life is not always convenient but can be inconvenient.

Prayer Starter O Holy Spirit! Beloved of our souls give us the grace to fix our gaze on the ‘day of judgement’ when the Lord Jesus Christ will judge the living and the dead; and realize that the judgement we receive will be forever and ever, when time will stop. Transform our minds to live in the Kingdom of God which is NOW BUT NOT YET.

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Monday 17th October 2016 St.Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop & Martyr Ephesians:2/1-10 Psalm: 100/1-5 Luke: 12/13-21 Gospel Proclamation A man in the crowd said to Jesus, Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us. Jesus answered him, my friend who gave me the right to judge or to divide the property between you two? And he went on to say to them all, watch out and guard yourself from every kind of greed; because a person’s true life is not made up of the things he owns, no matter how rich he may be.

Then Jesus told them this parable: There was once a rich man who had land which bore good crops. He began to think to himself, I haven’t anywhere to keep all my crops. What can I do? This is what I will do; he told himself. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store my corn and all my other goods. Then I will say to myself, lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat drink and enjoy yourself! But God said to him, you fool, this very night, you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?

And Jesus concluded “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves, but are not rich in God’s sight.

Gaze at Jesus Jesus the Son of God was rich in God’s love and in order to share God’s abundant grace with all God’s children He gave up His riches in heaven, His heavenly image and came to earth. It is said in Ephesians 2: 4, “God’s mercy is so abundant, and His love for us is

so great, that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ”.

Jesus who knows the value and the abundance of divine privileges is inviting us today to gaze at Him as a divine healer who will restore our life in heaven. Therefore, Jesus was non-committal to the man who spoke about the family dispute regarding dividing wealth as His mission on earth was to tell the world that riches on earth are a hindrance to a life rich in heaven.

Our sonship The world today is busy transforming it into a life of prosperity in isolation and one away from God. They prioritize worldly experiences to that of God. Therefore, world is in a state of confusion and has lost their focus in God. The church dedicates the mass today to the memory of St. Ignatius, 3rd Bishop of Antioch who lived in the year 50 who was martyred by being thrown to feed the lions because of his dedication to the work of God. He emphasized in a Christ centered life for the church.

Therefore, let us be aware that church has a responsibility to transform herself to the true image of Christ where it’s members experience God’s grace and mercy.

Secondly, when we are identified as Christians, we are also called to a life of sacrifice like St. Ignatius to build the Body of Christ, and not be troubled by worldly riches.

Prayer Starter Dear Holy Spirit, help us understand that we are made rich with God’s abundant grace. Help us to trust in God’s friendship to us through Jesus.

Build our confidence that God will take care of our needs and our worldly possessions will not be a hindrance to be an ambassador for Christ. Amen!

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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zzY=oaOd;auhdfKkS" uu Tnjykafiag jkaokd kuialdr lrñ' ud l< hq;= l=ula±hs ug wK l< uekjZZ

Tuesday 18th October 2016 2 Timothy: 4/9-17 Psalm:145/10-13,17-18 Luke: 10/1-9 St. Luke the Evangelist who wrote this Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles was the beloved physician as St. Paul describes. He was born a Greek in Antioch. He had a special connection with the women in Jesus’ life, specially Mary and we have to thank him for the scriptural parts of the “Hail Mary” – “Hail Mary full of Grace” and “Blessed are you” and “Blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus.”

The Gospel Proclamation After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house.

Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”

Prayerful Awareness It seems that Jesus had several reasons for sending seventy of His disciples ahead of Him to the places that He Himself proposed to visit. Firstly Jesus

St. Luke the Evangelist wanted to give those in those places a taste of what could be expected when He came. He wanted the people in those villages and towns to have a thirst for the Kingdom of God. This was in order to open their hearts and minds to anticipate the Reign of a loving God; which was truly good news to a people under the domination of the Romans and their own oppressive religious rules and regulations. Secondly Jesus seems to have wanted to train His disciples to rely on God to look after their basic needs when they worked for His Kingdom. Jesus also wanted to prepare the disciples to work together as teams so that they could face those who rejected the good news of the Reign of God and worked against it. They had to learn to seek the help of an unseen God as they engaged in their mission in the same way that Jesus did as “True Man”. It was a training for a journey of Faith.

Our sonship We too are sent into the world to bear witness to a loving God Who desires to come into our hearts to “Rule with Love”. We have nothing to share but our own experience of this Loving God Who loves us like a Father who willingly sends His Son to sacrifice His life for our redemption.

Prayer Starter God’s Spirit is in my heart He has called me and set me apart.

This is what I have to do, what I have to do He sent me to give the Good News to the poor Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more Tell blind people that they can see And set the down trodden free And go tell everyone the news that the Kingdom of God has come

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Wednesday 19th October 2016 Sts. John de Brebeuf & Isaac Jogues St. Paul of the Cross task of building the kingdom of God here Ephesians:3/2-12 on earth from the point our Lord stopped, Psalm: Isaiah:12/2-6 and from the point where apostles and Luke: 12/39-48 other servants of God stopped. This is Gospel Proclamation Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect the Son of Man will come. Then Peter said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?" And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute food allowance at the proper time?

Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, 'Ë&#x153;My master is delayed in coming, and begins to beat the men servants and the maid servants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.

That servant, who knew his master's will, but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely, and the servant, who was ignorant of his master's will, but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.

Prayerful Awareness Our lives were pledged and we belonged to Lord Jesus at Baptism, to become true followers to build the Kingdom of God. We have to take forward the

a duty of all Christians, and in order to empower us, Lord sent to us the Holy Spirit. As Holy Spirit is part of our lives, we are given the thirst to fulfill our part of work for the Kingdom of God, and for this we are given talents. It is our duty to ask for help of Holy Spirit to identify these talents and put them to good use. Only then we will have real Peace, Happiness and Tranquility in our lives. The more we use our talents the more developed our talents would be, showing a growth in the same manner of a good investment. There should be a growth even in our lives as Spirit guided people, improving us spiritually day by day, week by week, month by month and year by year. We too can realize this if we look back on our lives that we are not the same as we were in the past. Some of our weaknesses are no more, and others are better now or reduced than they were.

In the same manner a deposit grows with accumulated interest over time, we can know that we have grown from where we were, giving a higher spiritual value for our lives in our long journey to become pious as our Lord. How pious could we be, before we meet our Lord, may be in the Second Coming, or may be in the coming of Lord to take us home at the end of our lives.

Prayer Starter Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Love, Spirit of God the Father, Spirit of Lord Jesus, Spirit with me all the time, Help me to listen to Your voice and allow You to guide me to avoid sin. Purify my heart and soul and mind to always be full of Your Love, not to hurt anyone by any act, any word or any thought. Purify my mind, body and soul of all weaknesses and make me a pious, true follower of Lord Jesus, Amen.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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zzY=oaOd;auhdfKkS" uu Tnjykafiag jkaokd kuialdr lrñ' ud l< hq;= l=ula±hs ug wK l< uekjZZ

Thursday 20th October 2016 Ephesians: 3/14-20 Psalm: 33/1-2,4-5, 11-12, 18-19 Luke: 12/49-53 The First Proclamation “For this reason, I fall on my knees before the Father, from who every family in heaven and on earth receives its true name. I ask God from the wealth of his glory to give you power through his Spirit to be strong in your inner selves, and I pray that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, so that you, together with God’s people, may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ’s love. Yes, may you come to know his love – although it can never be fully known – and so be completely filled with the very nature of God. To him who by means of his power working in us is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of; to God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, for ever and ever! Amen.

Prayerful Awareness

personal experience of God’s love enabled her to live life boldly – to become the mother of Christ not knowing what it would entail, and to face every challenge with complete trust in her Father’s plan.

Through her faith, Christ was conceived in her womb. Today, the resurrected Christ waits to be conceived in our hearts. It is not wealth and status that entitles us, but our belief and sincere thirst to know Jesus.

Our Sonship

In the first proclamation, we see St. Paul’s earnest prayer on behalf of the Ephesians. He once persecuted Christians, but was willing to endure his own persecution that others too might experience the treasure he had found in God’s love.

Mother Mary endured indescribable suffering – she watched her Son die for the sins of the world so that we might be reconciled with God. Today, she is not only the mother of Jesus, but mother of all.

Knowing God’s love is the most blessed experience. The lives of St. Paul and Mother Mary inspire us to go beyond our limitations, to share this treasure with others.

Prayer Starter Today’s readings reveal God’s eagerness to love His people. “His constant Let us claim St. Paul’s prayer for our love fills the earth” (Ps 33: 18). It is vast, life, and pray with him for ourselves, our reaching out across generations and na- families, and our communities. tions, time and space. “His plans endure We pray that we can be strong in forever, his purposes last eternally” (Ps. our inner selves, that Christ will make 33:11). Yet at the same time, when we are aware, we feel God’s love intimately. His home in our hearts through faith… that we may have our roots and He shows His grace and protection in foundation in love… personal ways. and so be completely filled with In today’s gospel proclamation, we hear Mother Mary’s song of praise. She the very nature of God. To Him who by says, “From now on all people will call means of His power working in us is able me happy, because of the great things he to do much more than we can ever ask has done for me” (Luke 1: 48-49). Her for, or even think of…Amen!

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Friday 21st October 2016

Ephesians:4/1-6 Psalm: 24/1-6 Luke: 12/54-59 St. Hilarian the Great He was born of pagan parents near Gaza in Palestine. He attended schools at Alexandria, Egypt and was converted to Christianity. When he was 15 he heard reports about St. Anthony the Great and spent two months in the desert. Here he imbibed the life of penance and contemplation. On his return to Palestine noting that both his parents had died he divided his fortune among the poor and retired to a little hut in the desert. Here he lived in abject poverty and devoted himself to austere life. He retired into Lybian desert to escape the Julian persecution. Later he crossed over to Sicily, Yugoslavia and finally to Cyprus where he died in a lonely cave at the age of 80. (Saint Companions) The Gospel Proclamation He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'It is going to rain', and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

"And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? Thus when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case, or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny."

Prayerful Awareness What a pathetic condition it is!

Feast of St. Hilarian the Great People who were able to interpret the weather conditions were unable to interpret the messianic times. Also Jesus' contemporaries missed the golden opportunity offered them of knowing Jesus. To a greater degree today's man knows the whole universe rather well.

They are specialists in this area. However, they are unable to make out either the redemptive action or the creative action of God. Thus, the true measure of transformation and formation escape them. Our civilization is one of flight.

It tries to run away from its own ego, unconsciousness. Very often we do not like or want to face reality. Jesus helped us to discover this side of humanity. It is a mystery that cannot be explained any other way or by any other method other than by Jesus Christ. Our interior 'ego' is the main thing in this mystery. "And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us." (Genesis 1:2). Also we have been re-created in the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

With the birth of the Church time began for all of us; a new creation, a new personal existence. "Our Blessed Lord left the world without leaving any written message. His doctrine was Himself.

Ideal and History were identified in Him. The truth that all other ethical teachers proclaimed and the light that they gave to the world was not in them, but outside them. Our divine Lord, however, identified Divine Wisdom with Himself. It was the first time in history that it was ever done, and it has never been done since."

(Archbishop F.J.Sheen) The final message in today's gospel reading awakens us to be reconciled with God while we are on earth. How glad is He to welcome the penitent child back to Him. Prayer Starter Close Your eyes to my sins and wipe out all my evil. You will not reject a humble and penitent heart." (Ps.51/9, 17)

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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zzY=oaOd;auhdfKkS" uu Tnjykafiag jkaokd kuialdr lrĂą' ud l< hq;= l=ulaÂąhs ug wK l< uekjZZ

Saturday 22nd October 2016

Ephesians: 4/7-16 Psalm: 122/1-5 Luke: 13/1-9 The First Proclamation On each one of us God's favour has been bestowed in whatever way Christ allotted it.... The one who went down is none other than the one who went up above all the heavens to fill all things. And to some, his 'gift' was that they should be apostles; to some prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; to knit God's holy people together for the work of service to build up the Body of Christ, until we all reach unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God and form the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself. .....

Fix your gaze on Jesus Thank you dear Lord for the uncountable treasures heaped upon us, Humanity, the apex of your creation.

The more we become aware of the magnificence of your creation, this awesome backdrop on which we are placed on, to experience and taste your boundless love, the more we fall in love with you....and the better our life taste further becomes; life becomes an endless 'NOW" to be experienced and enjoyed, to be loved and to love in return, to work in the best way we each are uniquely and differently enabled, towards the betterment of ourselves and our brethren, our environment, our fellow creatures, the whole of this living sphere we presently call earth....

The above is of course the Truth or Reality for those of us who choose to become aware. Aware that we (not limited to humanity) all are truly connected, in ways known as well as not

St. John Paul II, Pope yet comprehended. It's a choice we make, on a moment to moment basis, to refuse the lie of separation, the lie of being the centre of the universe (where everyone and all things are purported to serve this awesome person- 'Me').

The question then becomes, where are you presently?

This question can only be answered by introspection; becoming aware of the inner processors of thought selection, the creation of feelings, the desires, the hopes, the impulses and the compulsions that drive our inner being....

The tree is judged by the fruit it engenders; so too is our behaviour the result of these inner processors.

We are all to realise unity in faith and knowledge of the Son of God and form the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ Himself. In other words, the 'Mind of the Christ'- His way of thinking, has to replace our present 'Each to his/her own ways'.

Then will we live by the truth and in love, our life experience becoming as depicted above.

Otherwise, we (as presently we mostly are) experience a wholly different life taste, for the most part quite disliked, unproductive and bad. Jesus explains the outcome then in His parable of the Vineyard owner cutting down the unproductive tree. Do we choose to be cut down as unproductive and useless and may be even destructive on the whole, or nourish ourselves in the 'Living Word' and bear good fruit?

Prayer Starter Lord, search me within, and help me to come before the truth of my being; to identify and align with Your desires and expectations, turn me anew towards Your ever present presence, and bring me to awareness....

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Sunday 23rd October 2016

30th Sunday of Ordinary Time World Mission Sunday Sirach: 35/12-14,16-19 the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mounPsalm: 34/1-2,16-18,22 tains, and shall be raised above the 2 Timothy:4/6-8,16-18 hills; and all the nations shall flow Luke: 18/9-14 to it, and many people shall come, OR and say: "Come, let us go up to Isaiah:2/1-5 the mountain of the Lord, to the Psalm:19/1-4 house of the God of Jacob; that he Ephesians:3/2-12 may teach us his ways, and that we may walk in his paths."For out of Mark: 16/15-20 Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem Introduction He shall judge between the nations, Archeology, anthropology and and shall decide for many peoples; other sciences studying the human and they shall beat their swords into species will give us the approximate plowshares, and their spears into time of our beginnings and our evo- pruning hooks; nation shall not lift lution since. But when it comes to the up sword against nation, neither question of the WHY of our existence shall they learn war any more O it is the philosophies that attempt to house of Jacob, come, let us walk give us answers. As Christians we in the light of the Lord. believe that: God, infinitely perfect Prayerful Awareness and blessed in Himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in His own blessed life. In the fullness of time, God the Father sent His Son as the Redeemer and Savior of mankind, fallen into sin, thus calling all into His Church and, through the work of the Holy Spirit, making them adopted children and heirs of His eternal happiness.(CCC).

It is our vocation to live this truth and our mission is to share this great truth with everyone.

Entrance Antiphon

The Lord reveals through His prophet that He has prepared a place that everyone who beholds it will wish to come there; He has prepared a life of peaceful existence where there will be no conflict between nations. Their life would be a walk in the light of the Lord. The prophet describes the Gift that God is waiting to give to those who are willing to be His people. He makes it attractive and desirable. That was His mission.

Gospel Proclamation

Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice; turn to the Lord and his strength; constantly seek his face.

First Proclamation

And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.

He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will

The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of

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cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover."So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen.

Gaze at Jesus The mission given to Jesus by His Abba was to proclaim the coming of His Kingdom to the whole of mankind. He did it to the extent that He proclaimed the entire content of the Kingdom; But to announce it to the rest of mankind until end of time He entrusts to His apostles chosen at the behest of His Father. Jesus commissions His apostles to preach the Gospel – the good news to the whole of creation which is included in God’s plan. He without any hesitation pronounces signs that will accompany those who believe.The apostles obey Jesus and carry out His commands; they experience the power of the Lord working through them and confirming their message.

Second Proclamation Assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, Which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the

Spirit; that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

This was according to the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him.

Our sonship Saul who became Paul when he encountered the resurrected Lord on his way to Damascus is also commissioned to preach the Gospel, the unsearchable riches of Christ to the gentiles as well. So to us who encounter the Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ are also entrusted the task of preaching the Gospel to all nations and thus to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. We are indeed privileged to be the ambassadors of Christ Jesus.

Prayer Starter O Lord Holy Spirit! Grant me the gift of awareness to see Your presence within my heart assuring me that Thou hast called me and set me apart to give the goodnews to the poor, tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more; tell blind people that they can see and set the down trodden free……….

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Monday 24th October 2016

St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop

Ephesians: 4/32-5/8 Psalm: 1/1-4, 6 Luke:13/10-17 The Gospel Proclamation Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment."

When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day."

But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day" When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Gaze on Jesus Jesus, the beloved Son of God, was moved even from His early days to do the Will of God; He was fully aware of the ministry He had to perform to glorify His Father in heaven.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to

preach the Good News to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" .(Luke 4/18-19) Jesus had to face many challenges during His ministry. The satisfaction realised from all His performances was offered to the glory of God. That is the very reason why the woman who was healed gave thanks to the glory of God. The Holy Spirit has given Jesus the gift of awareness to recognise the different forms of misery. So He did not hesitate to make everyone to experience the love of God. Time and place did not matter for Jesus to free persons from all bondages. In this text Jesus was most concerned in setting free the woman who was suffering from 18 years of being possessed by a spirit of infirmity than keeping to the letter of the law. Jesus showed us that the Sabbath is for man and not man for the Sabbath. Jesus' love was the same love that God had for man. This was the centre of Christ's teachings and the aim of His life on earth.

Our Sonship Where do we stand? Are we deeply concerned with people and relationships? Like Jesus, do we show loving sympathy to the poor, the sick, the despised and sinful? Do we give place for people's needs more than insisting on rules and regulations?

Prayer Starter We thank You Father God for giving us Jesus as the perfect model in our life.

Lord, let Your Holy Spirit grow in us an attitude of compassion for every person and give light to dispel the darkness of each one.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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zzY=oaOd;auhdfKkS" uu Tnjykafiag jkaokd kuialdr lrĂą' ud l< hq;= l=ulaÂąhs ug wK l< uekjZZ

Tuesday 25th October 2016 Ephesians: 5/21-33 Psalm: 128/1-5 Luke:13/18-21 The First Proclamation Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be in everything to their husbands.

Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ..... He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body. .....

The Gospel Proclamation He said therefore, "What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches."

And again he said, "To what should I compare the kingdom of God. It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."

Gaze at Jesus Jesus speaks today of what the Kingdom of God should look like through the Gospel of Luke. In Ephesians St. Paul explains this component further by speaking of family values likening husbands' love to their wives just as Christ loved the church giving His life to make it "pure and faultless, without spots or wrinkle or any other imperfections".

He did this in order that He may "dedicate the church to God." On many occasions

church is likened to His bride. Therefore, the sacrificial nature of Christ's love restores the church (His bride) to all its beauty that could be presented to God once again.

Irrespective of the gender formation in a church community, in the scripture God refers to His people as His bride.

Therefore, the whole church community as one body takes a feminine nature in the presence of God. In return God shares His feminine and male natures separately with man and woman who appear in His presence. Although the church has moved away from God's plan, Christ by His teaching and by the way He lived on earth has given us an indication of how we should live our Christian life on earth.

In trying to understand this phenomenon in God's kingdom Jesus draws parallel to the mustard seed that sacrifices itself to be a tree and the yeast that diminishes into the dough to multiply.

Underlying value in all this is the sacrificial and obedient nature that needs to be emulated as Christ at all times so that we may procreate the nature of God in the society as expected of each gender.

Gaze at my sonship St. Paul too reiterates the smallest unit that could model God in the church is the family through its attitudes towards sacrifice and obedience by man and woman.

However, the society today dictates values to the contrary destroying family where individualism is the main value.

Therefore, it is becoming a threat to the gender values that God created and the society at large is losing the feminine nature of God. Society thus, is proliferating violence and immorality.

Prayer Starter Happy is everyone who fears the Lord who walks in his ways. You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.

(Ps. 128/1,2...)

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Wednesday 26th October 2016 Ephesians: 6/1-9 Psalm: 145/10-14 Luke: 13/22-30 Gospel proclamation Jesus went through towns and villages teaching the people and making his way towards Jerusalem. Someone asked him, Sir, will just a few people be saved?

Jesus answered them, do your best to go in through the narrow door; because many people will surely try to go in but will not be able. The master of the house will get up and close the door; then when you stand outside and begin to knock on the door and say, open the door for us, sir! He will answer you, “I don’t know where you come from! Then you will answer, we ate and drank with you, you taught in our town! But he will say again, I don’t know where you come from.

Get away from me, all you wicked people! ......

Gaze at Jesus Let us gaze at the humility of Jesus who came to save us. Scripture today shows how He worked with great passion and commitment to reach out to the people to bring them to the good news.

Jesus was the Good News that God gave. Through Jesus we experience God with us, by seeing, experiencing and listening to His love. Therefore, Jesus is our appointed Shepherd leading the way to the truth that gives us life.

Our sonship Jews were the chosen race, but through Jesus God invites everyone from all corners of the world to come to Him, as He is the only way that could bring deliverance from our past sins.

Different religions teach us about eternity, and claims to be the way. There

are also the doors wide open to the world of materialism, education, social service which are extremely fulfilling or others totally destructive. Jesus invites us to follow Him in the narrow path, that will complete our journey.

For this Jesus has blessed us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us to Him. There are fivefold ways in which we can be awakened to the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. That is: Holy Spirit is within us, through our inner conscious, thoughts and our feelings.

Holy Spirit is around us through the word in the scripture, through uplifting words of others, through the creation and through situations.

Holy Spirit is our guide and friend who will be with us forever.

Listen to the Holy Spirit as God’s communicator.

Holy Spirit leads us to the Word, that is Jesus.

Prayer Starter Dear Holy Spirit, lead us throughout the day to Jesus who is leading us to the truth. As I undertake my daily chores in seven ways, I will rely on Your guidance.

That is: As I wake up in the morning As I go through my morning cleaning routine As I get dressed.

As I allocate a time for morning prayer As I sit down for my first meal As I set out to work As I prepare myself for sleep These are chores repeated more than once by me, hence lead me to become aware of Your guidance that helps me to choose correctly.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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zzY=oaOd;auhdfKkS" uu Tnjykafiag jkaokd kuialdr lrñ' ud l< hq;= l=ula±hs ug wK l< uekjZZ

Thursday 27th October 2016 Ephesians:6/10-20 Psalm: 144/1-2, 9-10 Luke: 13/31-35 The First Proclamation Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication.

To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly as I must speak.

legs. I pick up the breast plate made of iron and wear it on my chest. It is chunky and heavy, but it will protect the vital organs of my upper torso. My feet and my legs, now free from the long sarong are ready to run. I must not forget my shield. It is of golden colour and decorated with fiery dragons and precious stones. I carry it in my left hand, ready to block the darts that will rain at me from any direction. I bend down, and with my right hand I pick up the helmet and put it over my head.

It is slightly oversized and the weight is even more uncomfortable. Finally, with the shimmering sword in my right hand, I am ready. A warrior of prayer and of gospel proclamation!

My sonship There are numerous wars in this world such as against a certain kind of people, of race and religion, to possess land and for economic gain over resources such as oil. Today’s reading in Ephesians is talking about a war that cannot be readily grasped with our senses. For the war is against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness and against spiritual wickedness in high places.

There is no real evidence for the existence of such wickedness and they can be easily masked by appearing to do the “right” thing. Fighting against such wickedness cannot be achieved without God, His truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the Holy Spirit.

Prayer Starter

Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle, my rock and my fortress, my Prayerful Awareness stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, I am wearing a sarong, and if I am in whom I take refuge, who subdues to be ready to fight, then I have to girt the peoples under me. (Ps.144/1-2....) it up over my knees and around my

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Friday 28th October 2016 Ephesians: 2/19-22 Psalm: 19/1-3 Luke: 6/12-19

The Gospel Proclamation Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot and Judas son of James and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their disease; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Prayerful Awareness

"Our Lord's great command was: "Follow Me!" By calling others to Himself, He introduced the idea that man should have charge over man. It was a prolongation of the principle of His Incarnation: He who is God would teach and redeem and sanctify through the human nature which He had taken from Mary. But He would work also through other human natures, starting with those first twelve whom He called to be His followers. It was not to be the angels who would administer to men: the government of the Father would be placed in the hands of human beings.

Such is the meaning of His apostolic call to the twelve." (Archbishop F.J.Sheen.)

The choice of the apostles and the way

Sts. Simon & Jude, Apostles it was done are unique. "I have made You known to those You gave Me out of the world. They belong to You and you gave them to Me." (John 17:6). As it was of sacramental origin this authority has the divine seal of origin. As such no ratification by any one is necessary. This ministry does not separate priests from members of God's people. Its function includes the ministry of teaching, sanctifying and governing the faithful. The successors of the apostles receive this ministry from Jesus Christ and they must exercise the same in His Name. "He had to call to Himself a body of men to whom He would communicate certain powers that He had brought with to earth. This body would not be a social body such as a club, united only for the sake of pleasure and convenience; nor would it be a political body, held together by material interests; it would be truly spiritual, the cement of which would be charity and love and the possession of His Spirit. (Archbishop F.J.Sheen). When Christ was on earth He exercised the triple office of King, Priest and Prophet or Teacher. As His followers we too have to exercise this office with the aim of furthering His Kingdom here on earth.

In the First Proclamation we have Paul presenting two pictures - Gentiles are no longer foreigners but full members of the family of God. Then in the second picture the building is the Church. Every Christian is a stone built into the Church. Christ is the cornerstone of the Church. The unity in the Church comes not from ritual, organization or liturgy but from Christ.

Prayer Starter

Help me to be alert to and fulfil my duties as a priest, a prophet and a king.

Amen.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

36

zzY=oaOd;auhdfKkS" uu Tnjykafiag jkaokd kuialdr lrñ' ud l< hq;= l=ula±hs ug wK l< uekjZZ

Saturday 29th October 2016 verse used by the carnal man, “even to go to hell, must be the first” as they try Psalm: 42/1-2, 4 to grab and use most of the available resources for themselves, without trying Luke: 14/1, 7-11 to spare some for the others, the late comers who are not able to get the best.

Gospel Proclamation This reminds me of the man who stayed On a Sabbath He went to dine at the near the “Bethesda” pool for 38 years home of one of the leading Pharisees, (St. John 5: 2 - 9 ) waiting for someone and the people there were observing to put him into the pool when the water is Him carefully. He told a parable to those stirred, in order to receive healing. When who had been invited, noticing how they Jesus asked him “what do you want” He were choosing the places of honour at said, “Master, I have no one to put me the table. “When you are invited by into the pool when the water is stirred someone to a wedding banquet, do not up; while I am on the way, someone recline at table in the place of honour. A else gets down there before me”. But, more distinguished guest than you may Lord said, “Rise, take up your mat, have been invited by him, and the host and walk” and immediately he got who invited both of you may approach healed. Lord’s words come with Love you and say, ‘Give your place to this and Power to totally heal entire mind man,’ and then you would proceed and body and soul and forgive all his with embarrassment to take the lowest past sins to start a new life. Sometimes, place. Rather, when you are invited, go we too go in search of healing from and take the lowest place so that when outside, without any knowledge of our the host comes to you he may say, ‘My inner wounds, hate, grudge, anger and friend, move up to a higher position.’ strife. We may carry these connected to Then you will enjoy the esteem of your past occurrences against one or many companions at the table. For everyone persons or sometimes against the whole who exalts himself will be humbled, society. Carrying these can make a perbut the one who humbles himself will son impure and create worries and stress which can make even the most healthy be exalted.” and strong persons become sick over a Prayerful Awareness period. So, let us learn to forgive others' In the Jewish society at the time Jesus faults and sins, and focus our lives on Christ lived on earth, Pharisees had an our Leader, Lord Jesus and be humble, esteemed position as enforcers of the Law, happy and peaceful. and due to this they always tried to occupy Prayer Starter the best seats. Seeing this Jesus said the Lord Jesus, I accept You as my Lord above parable. We must think and see and I agree to follow all Your teachings; where we are. In this secular world, someto love God, our Loving Father, and to times we too may get dragged to follow the rule “survival of the fittest” due to the love our neighbour all the time, and in competition of people trying to have the everything I do. Lord Jesus, fill me with best for themselves and trying their best the Holy Spirit, purify my spirit and unite to come up, sometimes by pulling down it with Your Spirit and with the Spirit of another. There is also another common our ever Loving Father in heaven, Amen.

Philippians:1/18-25

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

37

Sunday 30th October 2016 Wisdom:11/22-12/2 Psalm: 145/1-2,8-11, 13-14 2 Thessalonians:1/112/2 Luke: 19/1-10 Introduction What is our worth before the eyes of Almighty God? Is that worth determined by our way of life, our spirituality, our moral standing, our knowledge or criteria of that nature?

Often that is how we measure our worth before God and we come to realize that we fall short of the ideal.

Therefore we feel that because of our failure God would be displeased and forsake us. Therefore we plead ………

Entrance Antiphon Forsake me not, O Lord, my God; be not far from me!

Make haste and come to my help, O Lord, my strong salvation!

First Proclamation Before the Lord the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook people's sins that they may repent. For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not

31st Sunday of Ordinary Time have fashioned. And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? But you spare all things, because they are yours, O Lord and lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things!

Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD! Prayerful Awareness Our self-image is important to all of us. We are always concerned about how others see us (or what they see in us). In order to be presentable we pay attention to how we comb our hair, the dress we wear, how we walk and talk (accent). What we do with human beings we do with God also.

Like the Pharisee in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican we try to justify ourselves before God. The above proclamation reveals to us that God our Creator when He looks at us He sees what He originally created which incorporated His imperishable Spirit rather than the defilements we have acquired from the moment of conception till now. The good news is that God loves what He sees. When we go before the presence of God He reveals to us the image He sees and loves and invites us to repent – turn around and journey towards it.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

38

Gospel Proclamation

Second Proclamation

At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.

So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way.When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.”

And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

Gaze at Jesus

Brothers and sisters: We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.

We ask you, brothers and sisters, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a “spirit,” or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.

Our sonship

Gazing at Zacchaeus on the tree Jesus the Son of God sees him through the eyes of His beloved Abba. Jesus does not see Zacchaeus as the chief tax collector who had defrauded his own people but a beloved child of God who was willing to repent. We see the response of Zacchaeus.

If like Zacchaeus we act on our desire to see Jesus He will come to encounter us and gaze at us through the eyes of God our Father. It is He who will make us worthy of His calling to be His sons and daughters. We are called to receive the gift of sonship He lovingly offers to us. Let us strive to be in His presence constantly and enjoy His transforming love.

Prayer Starter Father I thank You for your goodness You show Yourself to children.

And in my life I see You leading me Into my childhood once again.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

39

Monday 31st October 2016 Philippians: 2/1-4 Psalm: 131/1-3 Luke: 14/12-14 The First Proclamation Please read Philippians 2/1-4 prayerfully.

Paul tells the Philippian Christians that they should cultivate humility which is a Christian virtue. They should not do anything through rivalry or vain conceit.

They should follow the example of Christ who was God and became man. He was poor and the servant of everyone. He identified Himself with the most humble, most afflicted and the most despised.

They should not strive for personal fulfilment, but should always give preference to the needs of others.

The Second Proclamation He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Gaze on Jesus Jesus happened to be in the house of a leading Pharisee and there were other religious leaders as well. It was the Sabbath and they all were eager to see what Jesus would do with the man with leprosy who had been planted there. Jesus healed the man and made all of them embarrassed by putting the ball back to their court.

It is the usual tendency for these religious leaders to occupy the first places at their social gatherings. Here also Jesus repeats what He had said earlier in Matthew 23/12. "Everyone who makes himself great will be humbled and

everyone who humbles himself shall be made great."

In a society where class distinctions were very rigidly observed, people always associated with those of the same or higher class. Those of the poorer class were severely left alone and were not even noticed. Jesus in His deep concern for the poor and the destitute makes use of this occasion to make the man who invited Him aware of his responsibilities towards those down trodden and marginalized. He must necessarily share his bread with the poor, the lame and the blind who cannot pay him in return. For this he will be rewarded not in this world, but at the resurrection of the dead. "I was hungry and you gave me to eat."

(Matthew 26/35).

Prayerful Awareness As Christians we consider that God is our Father and all men as our brothers.

How far do we make this real in our day to day living or are they mere words which we conveniently ignore and do not give any consideration. We are also aware of the two great Commandments - to love God above everything else and to love our neighbour in the same measure we love ourselves. This is what Jesus repeatedly proclaimed and lived during His life on earth. Jesus never turned away the poor.

The destitute and the so-called sinner who came to Him, He accepted them as they were. More often than not, we try to get rid of as soon as possible the one who comes to us with a tale of woe and is in want. He will be very much relieved if we give him a patient hearing. If we treat him with disrespect then we are doing it to Christ who is abandoned in him.

Prayer Starter Lord Jesus, may I always bear in mind the words You will speak to me when You come in glory on the last day.

"Whatever you do the least of my brethren that you do unto me."

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

WALK IN THE SPIRIT

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THE COVER STORY

Even the worst sinner is afforded the chance of repenting and returning to God, through experiencing the merciful love of God which is freely available in abundance.

The Lord Jesus, through the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector who went to pray in the Temple, teaches a good lesson to those who self-righteously condemn sinners and try to deprive them of this opportunity of being reconciled with the God of mercy. But the tax collector, standing far off, Would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, But beat his breast, saying, â&#x20AC;&#x153;God, be merciful to me a sinner!â&#x20AC;? (Luke 18:13) The difference between those who pray and those who lead a life of prayer is evident in the responses they give when relating to others in various situations of life.

(Rev. Fr. Siri Oscar Abayaratne)

Walk in the Spirit - October 2016 ISSN 1391-5967