Walk In the Spirit February 2017

WALK IN THE SPIRIT

February 2017 Volume 02 Issue 15

"The Lord is with you. Be awake"

ISSN 1391-5967

Publication: Fr. Siri Oscar Abayaratne Kithu Dana Pubuduwa

SHARING ON PRAYER February 2017

To listen to the Abba’s Word (Jesus) in the Spirit, is the finest response of one who is awakened to the Spirit’s presence always and everywhere.

One way of discerning whether I am alive to the presence of the Spirit is the facility I experience in listening to things, events, happenings as sacraments of encounter with the Abba thro’ Jesus.

Fr. Siri Oscar Abayaratne

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Wednesday 1st February 2017 Hebrews:12/4-7, 11-16 Psalm:100/1,2,13,14, 17-18 Mark:6/1-6 St. Henry Morse He was born in 1595 at Brome, Suffolk (England) and was brought up in the Protestant faith. While studying Law in London, he decided to become a Catholic. When he was 23 he went to France and there he was received into the Church. Later he was ordained priest in Rome. He was imprisoned for four years and was later released. Then in 1638 he was charged with being a priest in contravention of the country's statutes and of perverting some 560 of His Majesty's Protestant subjects. He was executed on 1st February 1645. Beatified in 1929 by Pope Pius XI and he is one of the forty martyrs of England and Wales to have been canonized in 1970.

The Gospel Proclamation He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.

Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Prayerful Awareness "Familiarity breeds contempt" is a

St. Henry Morse - Martyr common proverb. What a nice example we have here from Our Lord's life itself.

He put Himself to a severe test. He was followed by His disciples and He came as a teacher to His home town. He taught at the synagogue and the reaction to His teaching - it was the other side of the coin. He was not greeted with wonder but contempt. "How can a man who came from a background like Jesus say and do things as He did?" they thought. Their refusal to listen to Him was grounded on - His kin and job. They knew in and out of His parents and relatives. To them He was only the carpenter's Son and nothing beyond. They did not and could not see His native worth and were bent on evaluating Him on incidentals and externals. He came as a teacher, a Rabbi, and not like the working man they knew Him to be. Isn't that His glory? He did not claim exceptions when He came to earth.

"Christ was without sin but for our sake God made Him share our sin in order that in union with Him we might share the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21). True worth of a person - does it depend on fortune, birth and pedigree?

Before He started His public life He had led a common life with all common tasks. Familiarity should pave the way to a growing respect. What if it breeds an easy-going familiarity? Sometimes when we are too close to people we do not or cannot see their greatness. It was understandable that the people of Nazareth, who had seen Jesus grow up among them, were surprised to hear Him proclaim Himself the Anointed of God. They now had a double alternative before them: either to accept Him as the fulfilment of prophecy or to rebel. The priviledge of being the home town of the long-awaited Messiah and the One Whom the heavenly Father in the Jordan proclaimed His Divine Son was too much for them because of their familiarity with Him. Prayer Starter Help us see the many blessings that surround us and praise Thee. Amen.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Thursday 2nd February 2017

Malachi: 3/1-4 Psalm:24/7-10 Hebrews:2/14-18 Luke: 2/22-40 OR 2/22-31 The First Proclamation 'Look, I shall send my messenger to clear a way before me. And suddenly the Lord whom you seek will come to his Temple; yes, the angel of the covenant, for whom you long, is on his way, says Yahweh Sabaoth. Who will be able to resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire, like fullers' alkali. He will take his seat as refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they can make the offering to Yahweh with uprightness. The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will then be acceptable to Yahweh as in former days, as in the years of old.

Fix your gaze on Jesus O Blessed Master, the promise of salvation, of reconciliation with our creator God, have mercy on us Your faithful….!

The first words of this chapter seem an answer to the scoffers of those days.

Here is a prophecy of the appearing of John the Baptist. He is Christ's harbinger. He shall prepare the way before him, by calling men to repentance.

The Messiah had been long called, "He that should come," and now shortly he will come. John the Baptist here promised is the Messenger of the fulfillment of the covenant.

Those who seek Jesus, shall find pleasure in him, and treasure, often when not looked for. The Lord Jesus, prepares the sinner's heart to be his tem-

ple, by the ministry of his word and the convictions of his Spirit, and he enters it as the Bringer of peace and consolation.

Christ came to distinguish men, to separate between the precious and the vile. He shall sit as a Refiner. Christ, by his gospel, shall purify and reform his bride the church, and by his Spirit working with it, shall regenerate and cleanse souls. He will take away the dross found in them. He will separate them from their corruptions within, which render their faculties worthless and useless.

The believer needs not fear the fiery trial of afflictions and temptations, by which the Savior refines his gold. He will take care it is not more intense or longer than is needful for his good; and these trials will end far sooner than that of those choosing wickedness. Christ will, by interceding for them, make them accepted.

Where no fear of God is, no good is to be expected; where fear of God is, only good shall prevail. Evil pursues sinners. God is unchangeable. And though the sentence against evil works be not executed speedily, yet it will be executed; evil can but bring forth its own evil result-long lasting torment and estrangement. The Lord is as much an enemy to sin as ever. We may all apply this to ourselves. We relate to and deal with a God that changes not, therefore it is that we are not consumed; because his compassion fails not.

Prayer Starter O Comforter, O Great Spirit of God, You who abides with us through the thick and the thin, do keep us oriented towards the Living Word, the Lord Jesus. Bring us to awareness step by step; process us as You will, so that the dross, the error we have admitted within will be replaced Word by Word with the Truth as we stand before the Eucharist that most heavenly blessing of all ……

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Friday 3rd February 2017 Hebrews: 13/1-8 Psalm:27/1, 3, 5, 8, 9 Mark: 6/14-29 The First Proclamation Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.

Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you". So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?".......

St. Blasius, St. Ansagar to kill him, ....when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet ..... When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests, and the king said .... "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it," ... She went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?"

She replied, "The head of John the baptizer." Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, "I want you to give me at once, the head of John the Baptist on a platter." The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths... he did not want to refuse her......

Prayerful Awareness

Today's Gospel highlights how the Prophet John the Baptist witnessed for the truth, during his short period of ministry. He had a great love for the people and that is why he led the people to the Baptism of repentance. He is also the voice in the wilderness which prepared the way for the Lord making The Gospel Proclamation His paths straight. John as the servant King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' of God did not fear to talk against the name had become known. Some adulterous relationship of the King were saying, "John the baptizer with his brother's wife. had been raised from the dead and The King was a weak man. He took for this reason these powers are at a strong stand on the wrong thing when work in him." But others said, "It he knew the right. is Elijah." And others said, "It is a God's grace enables us to overcome prophet, like one of the prophets of fear and weakness in the face of tempold." But when Herod heard of it, he tation. Do we allow His grace to make said, "John whom I beheaded, has us strong with faith and courage when been raised." we face adversity?

For Herod himself had sent some The First Proclamation also gives men who arrested John, bound him, us very important advice as to how and put him in prison on account of we should conduct ourselves and the Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, reward we would get. because Herod had married her. For Prayer Starter John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your "Come my heart says, "seek his brother's wife." And Herodias had face!" Your face, Lord, do I seek, a grudge against him, and wanted (Ps.27/8)

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Saturday 4th February 2017 Isaiah: 43/1-5 Psalm:95/1-3,7-10 Acts:1/12-13; 2/1-2, 4-8, 11 Matthew:2/1-2, 7-12 The Gospel Proclamation Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee...

They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha", that is, "Be opened". And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one, but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well, he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

Gaze at Jesus Enlighten us Holy Spirit to gaze at Jesus who is empowered and overwhelmed with the Father's love.

Jesus' primary mission is to fulfill the Father's Holy Will and this very fact is instilled in Jesus by the Holy Spirit. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recover of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of

Our Lady of Lanka the Lord's favor." (Luke 4/18-19).

Also at the river Jordan Jesus got a special anointing from the Holy Spirit for His mission. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17) From the gospel incident Jesus wants to show the people the healing love of the Father. His primary task is to build the Kingdom, and healing and driving away demons is testimony to the fact that the Kingdom of God had come.

Also this act of Jesus demonstrates to us His Father's plan to use His creation with its various attributes, for example, the sense of touch, for the purpose of transmitting His healing love. Jesus could have healed him by just a word and touch but He spat and touched his tongue and he was healed.

Put in another way we could state that the invisible reality of God's Love is made visible through the physical.

Prayerful Awareness God's love is limitless, ever ready to forgive the sinner and restore him to wholeness. He sent prophets one after another to reconcile us with Him. But people were so hard hearted that they rejected all of them. God loved us so much that He finally sent His only begotten Son as one of us and brought salvation through Him. It is up to us to believe in Jesus and belong to Him. If we permit this to be done unto us the Kingdom of God is ours and His heritage is also ours.

Prayer Starter Father God, we thank You for Your Son Jesus Christ who has revealed to us Your forgiving and infinite love.

Open our eyes and ears widely O Lord in order to absorb this reality and to be its witnesses. Amen.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Sunday 5th February 2017 Isaiah: 58/7-10 Psalm: 112/4-9 1 Corinthians:2/1-5 Matthew: 5/13-16 The First Proclamation Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.

The Gospel Proclamation "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

"You are the light of the world.

A city built on a hill cannot be hid.

No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Ps. Week 1 lamp-stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

The Second Proclamation When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.

My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. Prayerful Awareness "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12) says Christ.

So we ought to walk a He walked, we ought to live as He lived,; we ought to love as He loved; we ought to forgive as He forgave; we ought to serve as He served; we ought to sacrifice ourselves as He sacrificed Himself; we ought to die as He died.

In that way, we could become the salt of the earth, as He was the salt of the earth. Christ never lost His salti-

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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ness, not even for a single moment.

He always had salt in Himself so that He could add taste to the lives of other people. He constantly salted the lives of people, especially the sinners, marginalised, poor, needy and wretched.

What are the hindrances for us to become the salt of the earth?? Have we always maintained the saltiness in us? Have we most of the time become "no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men"? Can we be seasoned or restored again? With the help of Christ, we could once again become the salt of the earth - when we once again hear His words and do them, we become the salt of the earth. By becoming true disciples of Christ, we can truly begin to live our true vocation in life.

Christ also wants us to shine as the light before other people. How do we become the light of the world?

Becoming the salt of the earth and the light of the world is one and the same process.

Since salt is a kind of crystal, it has shining and sparkling qualities. In other words, real salt shines. Salt also destroys germs, as light penetrates darkness.

To shine in the world is to perform good works, and give glory to God. How do we do it? It is by feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and visiting the imprisoned.

To shine in the world is to create a world which has a place for Christ.

So that Christ can begin once again to shine in each person. As Christians, by not doing good works, we have sent Christ into oblivion.

Giving glory to God is not a matter of mere words, by a matter of costly involvement in the world and with the world. To become the light of this broken world, is the greatest glory we could render unto God. When we give glory to God, it begins to shine perpetually in this world.

Prayer Starter They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright, they are gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice.

For the righteous will never be moved, they will be remembered forever. They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.

Their hearts are steady, the will not be afraid; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever, their horn is exalted in honor.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Monday 6th February 2017 Genesis: 1/1-19 Psalm: 104/1-2, 5-6, 10 12, 24, 35 Mark: 6/53-56 Saint Paul Miki Paulo Miki was born into a wealthy Japanese family. He was educated by the Jesuits in Azuchi and Takatsuki. He joined the Society of Jesus and became a well known and successful preacher - gaining numerous converts to Catholicism. The local daimyō, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, began persecuting Catholics for fear of the Jesuits' influence and intentions, and possibly that of European visitors.

Miki arrested and jailed with his fellow Catholics were later forced to march 966 kilometres (600 miles) from Kyoto to Nagasaki; all the while singing the Te Deum. On arriving in Nagasaki—which today has the largest Catholic population in Japan—Miki was crucified on 5 February 1597.

He preached his last sermon from the cross, and it is maintained that he forgave his executioners, stating that he himself was Japanese. Crucified alongside him were Joan Soan (de Gotó) and Santiago Kisai, also of the Society of Jesus; along with twenty-three other clergy and laity, all of whom were canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1862.

Gospel Proclamation Having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored there. When they disembarked people at once recognised him, and started hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, to village or town or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of

St.Paul Micky

his cloak. And all those who touched him were saved.

Prayerful Awareness The central theme in today’s Proclamations is that Jesus Christ our Lord is the light and life of the world, nay the universe! The First Proclamation contains the narrative on the first ‘days’ of Creation, in symbolic language, where we see the Holy Trinity at work in the act of creation. Let us look at the parallel description in St. John’s Gospel, 1:1-5, as follows: “In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except through him. What has come into being in him was life, life that was the light of men; and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it.”

In the Believers’ Creed we say, “…

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son……”

Thus we see the interconnection between the Father, Son, and Spirit, all acting in unison, in the creation, the universe, life and light! The Spirit is the spirit of giving, receiving, and binding Love between the Father and the Son, which outpours into the creation, constantly reassuring, healing, and restoring from its fallen state, as we see described in today’s Gospel Proclamation. What Grace! Alleluia!

Song of Praise Bless Yahweh, my soul, Yahweh, my God, how great you are! Clothed in majesty and splendour, wearing the light as a robe! You stretch out the heavens like a tent, You fixed the earth on its foundations, for ever and ever it shall not be shaken; you covered it with the deep like a garment, the waters overtopping the mountains. ......

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Tuesday 7th February 2017 Genesis: 1/20-2/4 Psalm: 8/3-9 Mark: 7/1-13 The Gospel Proclamation Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them..... So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the traditions of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, ...' You abandon the commandments of God and hold to human tradition! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.'

But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, 'Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban' (that is, an offering to God) - then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this."

Prayerful Awareness Mark explained these Jewish rituals because he was writing to a non-Jewish audience. Before each meal, devout Jews performed a short ceremony, washing their hands in a specific way. The disciples did NOT have DIRTY hands, but they were simply not carrying out this traditional cleansing. The Pharisees thought this ceremony cleansed them from any contact they might have had with ANYTHING considered unclean.

Jesus said they were WRONG in thinking they were acceptable to God just because they were CLEAN on the OUTSIDE.

HYPOCRISY is pretending to be something you are NOT and have NO INTENTION of being. Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites because they worshiped God for the WRONG REASONS. Their worship was not motivated by LOVE, but by a desire to attain PROFIT to appear HOLY and to increase their STATUS. The Pharisees added hundreds of their own petty rules and regulations to GOD'S HOLY LAWS and then they tried to force people to follow their rules.

These men claimed to know God's Will in every detail of life. There are still religious leaders TODAY who add rules to God's Word, causing much CONFUSION among believers. It is IDOLATRY to claim that your interpretation of God's Word is as important as God's Word itself. It is especially DANGEROUS to set up UNBIBLICAL standards for OTHERS to follow, instead, look to CHRIST for guidance and let Him lead others in the details of their lives.

The Pharisees used God as an excuse to avoid helping their families. They thought it was more important to put MONEY in the temple treasury than help their needy parents, although God's laws says to honour fathers and mothers and to care for those in need. "Corban" vow made by anyone was required to dedicate money to God's temple, that otherwise would have gone to support his parents.

Corban had become an acceptable way to NEGLECT parents. Never use God as an excuse to neglect our responsibilities.

Helping those in need is one of the MOST IMPORTANT ways to HONOUR GOD. Prayer Starter God our loving Father, save us from false teachers who exploit Your people by using 'deceptive words.' They walk according to the flesh, despise authority, bold, egoistical and given to greed, ruled by their own desires. Jesus, lead us on the right path.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Wednesday 8th February 2017

St. Jerome Emiliani, St.Josephine Bakhita, Virgin

Genesis: 2/4-9,15-17 Psalm:104/1-2, 27-30 Mark: 7/14-23

here! Surely this is new doctrine. Persons can be defiled by their own actions.

These in turn are the product of their own hearts. From a popular poster we have: Watch your thoughts, they become St. Josephine Bakhita words She was born in Susan in 1859. Her Watch your words, they become parents were pagan. She spent most of her life in Schio, the Italian city. She is a actions Watch your actions, they become saint with a truly colourful background.

Everyone called her 'Our Black Mother'. habits She was kidnapped when she was young Watch your habits, they become and sold in slavery. She suffered terrible character things in her young age. She was sold and Watch your character, it becomes re-sold in the slave market and suffered your destiny. humiliation of slavery, both physical and Uncleanliness - yes, its very founmoral. The Italian consul who bought her finally had her entrusted to the Canossian dation is in our hearts and what emaSisters in Venice. She spent the rest of nates from the heart makes us unclean. her life in attending to daily chores. She Thoughts precede actions. Outward acts of sin - yes, they are preceded by inward died on this day in 1947. acts of choice. So rightly Jesus begins The Gospel Proclamation with the evil thoughts which are the very Then he called the crowd again foundation of evil actions. 'In themselves and said to them, "Listen to me, all of passions are neither good nor evil. They you, and understand: there is nothing are morally qualified only to the extent outside a person that by going in can that they effectively engage reason and defile, but the things that come out are will. Passions are said to be voluntary, "either because they are commanded what defile."

When he had left the crowd and by the will or because the will does not entered the house, his disciples asked place obstacles in their way. It belongs him about the parable. He said to to the perfection of the moral or human them, "Then do you also fail to under- good that the passions be governed by stand? Do you not see that whatever reason." (C.C.C. 1267) He speaks of goes into a person from outside cannot moral defilement and no food can defile defile, since it enters, not the heart but a man. There is no food, the consumpthe stomach, and goes out into the sew- tion of which can defile a man. In other er?" And he said, "It is what comes words it is not a sin. His doctrine is out of a person that defiles. For it is revolutionary. In Leviticus 11 we have from within, from the human heart the list of food that defiles a man. God that evil intentions come; fornica- created those foods to be eaten, after a tion, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, prayer of thanks. Everything God has wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, created is good. Nothing is to be rejected envy, slander, pride, folly. All these but everything is to be received with a evil things come from within, and they prayer of thanks (1 Timothy 4/3-5) Prayer Starter defile a person.

Prayerful Awareness You give us food when we need it and What a pronouncement Jesus makes new life to the earth. Amen. (Ps:104/27, 30)

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Thursday 9th February 2017

Genesis: 2/18-25 Psalm: 128/1-5 Mark:7/24-30 The First Proclamation of God’s Love Yahweh God said, 'It is not right that the man should be alone. I shall make him a helper.' So from the soil Yahweh God fashioned all the wild animals and all the birds of heaven.

These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the man would give it. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild animals. But no helper suitable for the man was found for him.

Then, Yahweh God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And, while he was asleep, he took one of his ribs and closed the flesh up again forthwith.

Yahweh God fashioned the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. And the man said: This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh! She is to be called Woman, because she was taken from Man. This is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife, and they become one flesh. Now, both of them were naked, the man and his wife, but they felt no shame before each other.

Fix your gaze on Jesus Thank you O Lord for coming to us today as the Living Word, bringing upliftment and consolation, of healing and freedom from guilt....

Our initial condition, the way we were created by our Maker, was without blemish, perfect for that stage of human evolution. When asking our selves the question as to who we truly are, we need to remember the origin. The bodies that

we presently reside in, that which we perceive as ourselves, is made from the soil; from basic material. Then God's breath / the spirit / the Intelligence / the Living Word came to abide therein; and the material body became infused with life. It is the spirit of God, the breath, the intelligence that brings the host body to life, with varying degrees of self-awareness.

With awareness comes a host of benefits. Two of them are, the illusion of separateness and the ability to self-program; to learn from life, to adapt to the environment, and improve on the experience of life; not only to survive, but to thrive; to give and take, to come back together/ become one with your environment.

A study text in the early stages of NLP comes to mind here! It is called, 'I am Okay, You are Okay'; Let's translate this in to 'Good News' language; 'I am blessed abundantly, and so are you!

Let's rejoice...'. This essentially is what the scriptures are implying to us today, that there is absolutely no need for us to be ashamed of our present stage; that the Lord created us in a blessed state, and that we should stay a-tuned to the Lord who is doing 'Great Things' for us!

Wasn't this the attitude of the woman in the Gospel today who went to the Lord Jesus seeking relief for her daughter oppressed by an evil spirit? Despite societal perceptions of been an outcast, she owned up to being 'looked after', and Jesus' testing of her attitude found her true. Praise the Lord!

Prayer Starter Thank you Good Lord for giving us life, for making us aware! Now make us more and more aware of Your constant presence within and without, sensitising us to the created whole and bonding us back to our earlier state of being One with All...

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Friday 10th February 2017

Genesis:3/1-8 Psalm: 32/1-2, 5-7 Mark: 7/31-37 The First Proclamation Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, ....

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden .... and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

The Gospel Proclamation Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee .... They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, 'Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one, but the more he ordered them, the more

St. Scholastica zealously they proclaimed it .....

Prayerful Awareness We can see from the Genesis reading, that although God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of Life, they were compelled to eat of it. Similarly, even though we do not consider it as such a severe sin, in Mark’s reading although Jesus commanded the people to not talk about His healings at that time, they were compelled to spread the news.

The sin that Adam and Eve committed is symbolic of the first sin against God. Just like a line of Dominos that are tipped starting from the first, humans have since been compelled to disobey God. Now, instead of pointing our finger at others’ sins, let us take a look at ourselves. The hardest thing to do is to acknowledge our own faults and sins. Let us use the words in Psalms 32:5 and ask the Holy Spirit to help us see the sinfulness of ourselves. “Then I acknowledge my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity”.

What is the source of my sinfulness?

For Adam and Eve, it was the belief that God was withholding from them something that is good; and even though God had created man in His own image, they could not see this. In fact, the serpent urged Eve to eat the fruit so that they “will be like God”.

Could these reasons also be the source of my own sins? Am I more likely to sin when I cannot see the goodness of God when I am faced with difficult and painful situations. Do I truly believe that I am created in the image of God? Then why do I compare myself to others?

Why do I give preferential treatment to some people?

Prayer Starter Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Saturday 11th February 2017 Genesis: 3/9-24 Psalm: 90/2-6,12-13 Mark: 8/1-10

OR Isaiah:66/10-14 Song: Judith:13/1820 John: 2/1-11 Gospel Proclamation During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.” His disciples answered, “But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

“How many loaves do you have?”

Jesus asked.“Seven,” they replied.

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them.

The people ate and were satisfied.

Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

Gaze at Jesus According to the first reading in Genesis, God’s abundant love was ever present in the Garden of Eden until

Adam and Eve chose to rely on their own strength and wisdom and assumed more control over their lives. God permitted their choice and allowed them to leave the Garden of Eden to fend for themselves.

The gospel gives an account of Jesus multiplying the seven loafs of bread and two fishes to feed the five thousand. In doing so, Jesus draws our attention back to God who can supply our bare necessities with overflowing abundance if we turn to Him.The story says that large crowds gathered, hung around Jesus for three days without food because they were hungry to hear what Jesus taught about God. They were also in search of love and when Jesus fed the multitudes of people with the seven loafs of bread and the two fishes, the scripture indicates that people were satisfied.

Let us also meditate on today’s optional memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes whose apparitions to Bernadette draw our attention to her Immaculate Conception. The messages that Our Lady of Lourdes delivered could be summed up as “God is love and he loves us as we are”.

Therefore, let us become aware, during this time period in the world, Lord has called us to be His followers not because of our own greatness, but because of what He is going to make of us, which is far more superior to what we can achieve by ourselves.

Prayerful Awareness Jesus continues to nourish us with His Body and Blood through the Eucharist. As we partake in this divine meal let us ask the Lord to Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Relent, Lord! How long will it be?

Have compassion on your servants.

(Psalm 90:12-13)

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Sunday 12th February 2017 Sirach: 15/15-20 Psalm: 119/1-2,4-5, 17-18, 33-34 1 Corinthians: 2/6-10 Matthew: 5/17-37 OR 5/20-22,27-28,33-34,37

The First Proclamation If you choose, you can keep the commandments, and to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. He has placed before you fire and water; stretch out your hand for whichever you choose.

Before each person are life and death, and whichever one chooses will be given. For great is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power and sees everything; his eyes are on those who fear him, and he knows every human action.

He has not commanded anyone to be wicked, and he has not given anyone permission to sin.

The Gospel Proclamation "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

"You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not murder'; and 'whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment, and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Ps. Week II

if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Again you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, 'You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.' But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No' ; anything more than this comes from the evil one."

The Second Proclamation Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him' These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. Prayerful Awareness We cannot be the judge of our

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own righteousness. One is not the arbiter of one's own actions. There is a higher Judge. Whether we are truly righteous or not, holy or not, humble or not, compassionate or not, forgiving or not and loving or not will be judged by the Judge of judges.

God is the measure of our conduct. Christ is the criterion of our Christian witnessing. He is the one to set the standard for our Christian praxis. Christ is the Ultimate fulfilment of the Law, of all righteousness.

His word is an order, a command, an imperative. That means, as His disciples, we are under obligation to follow His teachings, whether we like it or not.

Christ spoke with authority, power, conviction and passion, unlike the scribes, Pharisees and sadducees. Where did He acquire such authority from? It stems from the deepest core of His character. Our deepest core is where God dwells most powerfully and therefore, we could say with absolute certainty that all of His teachings issued from God. God's depth and His depth ultimately became one. When we listen to Christ, we listen to God, no more, no less.

Christ and His teachings are one reality. Christ Himself was His message. In Him the message became the messenger in a perfect unity and harmony. Whatever He taught, He practised perfectly. His deeds and His words were one. What He put into practice He communicated brilliantly and effectively.

That is the reason for His peculiar style of preaching. "You have heard that it was said to the men of old ... But I say to you ...." Now, Christ has become the law, the norm, the standard, the criterion, the measure. His life is His message through and through.

Let us take one example - to clarify the significant point; "But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully, has already committed adultery with her in his "heart" (Matthew 5:28).

How was He able to teach such a thing with such power, authority and conviction? Because He never looked at a woman lustfully. What He was teaching, He was living out.

That is the secret of His power and His uniqueness. And today He is inviting us to become what He was and live out what He lived out. To be a follower of Him is to become another Christ. Today's Gospel reading is a blueprint for such a spiritual journey.

Prayer Starter Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the way of the Lord. Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart.

You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently, O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!

Deal bountifully with your servant, so that I may live and observe your word. Open my eyes, so that I may behold wonderous things out of your law.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Monday 13th February 2017 Genesis:4/1-15, 25 Psalm: 50/1,8,16-17, 20-21 Mark: 8/11-13 Gospel Proclamation Please read Mark 8/11-13 prayerfully.

Prayerful Awareness Let us read today’s Proclamations prayerfully and meditatively, where the central theme is the contrasting behavior between people led by the spirit of love, and people led by dishonest motives, as described in the Gospel Proclamation above.

In today’s First Proclamation, we read of the account of Cain and Abel, where Abel is leading a life pleasing to God, and Cain apparently is not. Accordingly Abel’s offering to God is done in a spirit of love and thanksgiving, whereas Cain appears to have made his offering grudgingly and in a spirit of bitterness, and we are told that, “Yahweh looked with favour on Abel and his offering. But he did not look with favour on Cain and his offering, and Cain was very angry and downcast.”

The Manual accompanying a manufactured product lays down the instructions pertaining to the correct way of operating, maintaining, and taking good care of the product in the best possible manner. However if the owner decides to ignore the instructions given, it will lead to the malfunctioning of the product.

Similarly, God’s instructions to man was how to live a good life, filled with outgoing love for each other, and hence man was made in the image of God, which encompasses the constant giving, receiving and binding love between God the Father and God the Son, which is manifested as the third person in the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit. And it is this love that

led to the creation of the universe as a means of sharing this Love. The eating of the forbidden fruit represented rejecting God and God’s instructions for good living, being misled by Satan the Devil to believe that man can decide what’s good and bad according to his own whims and fancies, whereby man opened the way to the seven deadly sins (pride, anger, jealousy/hatred, sloth, lust, greed, and avarice) leading to wars and chaos, disease, decay and destruction.

However, in God’s mercy, His constant and unconditional love, He sent His only begotten Son to pay the price for man’s collective sin, so that whosoever believeth in Him will receive the Holy Spirit and have eternal life (John 3:16) by living a life filled with the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control)!

Cain was angry and downcast because he had started entertaining hateful thoughts towards his brother Abel, thus becoming an easy target for sin, but we can overcome such temptations with the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Yahweh asked Cain, 'Why are you angry and downcast?

If you are doing right, surely you ought to hold your head high! But if you are not doing right, Sin is crouching at the door hungry to get you. You can still master him.'

Despite God’s warning, Cain continued to dwell on the evil thoughts which led to his committing the dreadful sin of the first murder, and that of his own dear brother. Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let us go out'; and while they were in the open country, Cain set on his brother Abel and killed him.

Dwelling on evil thoughts leads easily to sin, which can have disastrous consequences on a person’s whole life, and generations to come, as what happened to Adam and Eve, and Cain. Let us therefore strive to master sin by constant awakening to the Holy Spirit. Amen!

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Tuesday 14th February 2017

Genesis: 6/5-8; 7/1-5,10 thousand people and reprimanded them for their lack of faith". They had forgotPsalm: 29/1-4, 9, 10 ten everything so soon.

Mark: 8/14-21 The First Proclamation The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, ..... And the Lord was sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, "I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created...for I am sorry that I have made them."

But Noah found favor in the sight of the Lord. .....

The Gospel Proclamation Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; ... And he cautioned them, saying, 'watch out - beware of the yeast of Herod." They said to one another, "It is because we have no bread." And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand?

Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?" They said to him, "Twelve." .... Then he said to them "Do you not yet understand?"

Prayerful Awareness Jesus who came to this earth full of the Father's love was ever ready to perform the Will of God. According to today's Gospel we understand that the disciples were unable to grasp Jesus' teachings. They became very anxious because they forgot to bring bread for their journey. This was right after Jesus miraculously fed four thousand people.

Jesus reminded them of His miraculous provision of bread in the feeding of four

How easy is it to forget what God has already done for us and to doubt what He promises to do as well. Jesus warned the disciples of the way Pharisees and Herod behaved.

Throughout the Gospel, Jesus confronts the Pharisees. They were respected by the Jewish society, nevertheless they disapproved of Jesus. Also their teachings were devoid of love and they did not practice what they preached.

Jesus says not to trust the leaven of the Pharisees, meaning their teachings.

Jesus fears that His disciples, because of being common people, will let themselves be impressed by the knowledge and fame of the Pharisees and warns them that these people build religion on a mistaken basis.

Jesus invites us to develop a discerning heart so that we may not be easily swayed by misleading principles and beliefs.

According to the First Reading, the Lord saw how great was the wickedness of man on the earth and that evil was always the only thought of his heart. The Lord regretted having created man on the earth and His heart grieved. According to Noah's story, this is God's intension with the flood, except that God does not destroy everything. He saves Noah, the just one, so that the holy race may spring from him.

Prayer Starter Dear Lord, awaken us to Your abiding presence with us and Your abundant provision for our lives as well. Also awaken us to be like our gracious Mother to empty ourselves but be awake. Let us not tempt ourselves with the evils which come from the world and the flesh. Let us feed our mind heart and body with the Word of God.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Wedneday 15th January 2017 Genesis:8/6-13, 20-22 Psalm:116/12-15,18-19 Mark:8/22-26 Sts. Faustina & Jovita They were from Brescia, in Lombardy (Italy). They preached the Word of God with zeal and fearlessness, even during Trajan's bloody persecution. The heathens were exasperated by their success. In the face of torture, imprisonment and material benefits they remained true to Christianity; did not worship Roman gods. They were of noble parentage and their case was submitted to Emperor Hadrian. When arguments and persuasions proved equally fruitless, they were condemned to die by the sword. They have been the chief patrons of their native city, Brescia, from earliest times.

We find their names in the ancient lists of martyrs.

The Gospel Proclamation They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Can you see anything?" And the man looked up and said, "I can see people, but they look like trees, walking." Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again, and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Then he sent him away to his home, saying, "Do not even go into the village."

Prayerful Awareness When we go deep into the reading we see the invitation extended to us there are many who are spiritually blind, i.e. blind to the heavenly realities. We who are gifted with the light of heavenly

Feast of Sts. Faustina & Jovita, Martyrs realities, have a task at our doorstep; to bring those who are blind to these realities, to the divine Son. "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness." (John 8:12) As His followers, we must bring this light to social and human issues, very specially to the poor and the troubled.

We are really carriers of the good news of salvation. It must be done not only through words but also by our deeds.

"Preach without preaching." (Archbishop F.J.Sheen). In this area shouldn't we aim at people who have never heard of Christ, then the weak, the sceptical and the alienated? "God has placed me here not to be successful, but to be faithful".

(St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta). This story of the cure of the blind man is mentioned only by Mark. Jesus cured him step by step. After Jesus laid His hands on his eyes for the first time, his eyesight was restored partially: ".... they look like trees walking about." (vs.25) Then in the final act Jesus laid His hands on his eyes and his sight was restored.

So is our spiritual sight. We do not see clearly the spiritual or heavenly realities.

The Lord Jesus Christ can and is ready to help, cure and lead us. Let us make ourselves available to Him, tell him, "Thy will be done." "Signs taken up by Christ - In His preaching the Lord Jesus often makes use of the signs of creation to make known the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. He performs healings and illustrates His preaching with physical signs or symbolic gestures.

He gives new meaning to the deeds and signs of the Old Covenant, above all to the Exodus and the Passover, for He Himself is the meaning of all these signs. (C.C.C. 1151) Prayer Starter As we cannot see all God's truth at once, help us in the journey to become a full-grown Christian. Amen.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Thursday 16th February 2017 Genesis:9/1-13 Psalm: 102/15-20, 28, 21-22 Mark: 8/27-33 The First Proclamation of God’s Love God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, 'Breed, multiply and fill the earth. Be the terror and the dread of all the animals on land and all the birds of heaven, of everything that moves on land and all the fish of the sea; they are placed in your hands.

Every living thing that moves will be yours to eat, ....with this exception: you must not eat flesh with life, that is to say blood, in it. And I shall demand account of your life-blood, too... for in the image of God was man created. Be fruitful then and multiply, teem over the earth and subdue it!' God spoke as follows to Noah and his sons, 'I am now establishing my covenant with you and with your descendants to come, and with every living creature that was with you...every living thing on earth. And I shall maintain my covenant with you: that never again shall all living things be destroyed by the waters of a flood...'And this', God said, 'is the sign of the covenant ...I now set my bow in the clouds and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

Fix your gaze on Jesus You are awesome Lord, and the earth and the sky proclaim Your glory...

Thank You Lord for assuring us through Noah that we shall not only survive, but thrive on this beautiful and nurturing earth given us! We are indeed grateful for this benevolent cradle given us, enabling us to reach for the potential we're infused with.

Together therewith, the Lord has also vested on us the responsibility of being stewards towards the mother-ship we're travelling the creation in! No other creature is above us (not to be interpreted as all other creatures are below us- mind you that we do NOT make this a worthiness contest, as all creatures are God's beloved children); and we are assigned a role in managing the system, making us now co-creators and heirs of the Creator's abundant blessings. The term teem over the earth and subdue it' is not to be interpreted as 'to plunder and rape the system'. That faulty thinking is foundered on the flawed premise that we are 'separate' from 'What-Is'; that we can build walls to separate us from what we deem unsavoury; that we can escape the consequences of 'What-We-Sow'. We see the ugly result of this insensitive and flawed / erroneous thinking today. We humans have to urgently upgrade our thinking to become 'One' with 'What-Is', if our progeny are to receive this mother-ship in a liveable condition.

The Lord will not punish us, we will be doing that to ourselves, on our own, due to our wrong choices. The crass consumerism we live, our inherent habitual and flawed thinking to project the power to make ourselves happy to the outside, will cause the whole system to fail. Can we look to the 'Good News' and upgrade our thinking to 'Rejoice in all circumstances'? Re-program ourselves to the original 'thought patterns' we were created with? Get back to the truth of the Spirit of God's eternal in-dwelling presence...?

Prayer Starter We have hope Lord, since our potential is your definitive will. Turn us from going our own ways, back towards your desires / thinking for us, to think like God, as Jesus said to Peter ...

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Friday 17th February 2017 Genesis:11/1-9 Psalm: 33/10-15 Mark: 8/34-9/1

you, there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power.”

Prayerful Awareness

The First Proclamation

“Does a person gain anything if he wins the whole world but loses his life?”

Jesus poses this question in today’s Gospel proclamation.

Sin separates us from God; its ultimate consequence is death (loss of life).

Humans have a natural tendency towards sin because it is self-centred and easy.

The only person who conquered sin was Jesus Christ. He lived a blameless life, and ultimately sacrificed His life for our sake so that we might be saved. Though Jesus died in the flesh, He was born again in the Spirit and is seated at the right hand of God. God created us for eternal life with Him, but since the time of Adam and Eve, the Devil works to proliferate sin and maintain the chasm between God and man. But when we strive to live for and with Christ, our tendency towards sin and satisfying the self is interrupted by our desire to become closer to God. “Does a person gain anything if he wins the whole world but loses his life?” The people of the Old Testament may have succeeded in constructing the tower reaching the heavens without God. United by language and common goals, they may have done great things, but they could not have saved themselves. Eternal life cannot be achieved by any measure of human righteousness or accomplishment.

Prayer Starter

Now the whole earth had one language and one speech… Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” ... And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. Therefore its name is called Babel…

The Gospel Proclamation Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If anyone wants to come with me,” he told them, “he must forget self, carry his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his own life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. Does a person gain anything if he wins the whole world but loses his life? Of course not! there is nothing he can give to regain his life. If a person is ashamed of me and my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” And he went on to say, “I tell

He saved us, not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us in full measure through Jesus Christ our Savior. And so, since we have been justified by his grace, we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life. (Titus 3: 5-7).

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Saturday 18th February 2017 Hebrews: 11/1-7 Psalm: 145/1-4,10-11 Mark: 9/2-13 The Gospel Proclamation After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.

And He was transfigured before them, and His clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to Him.” Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone but Jesus alone with them.

As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. Then they asked Him, “Why, do the Scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He told them, “Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things, yet how is it written regarding the Son of Man that He must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”

Prayerful Awareness

to accept Him as the Messiah expected, and change the purpose for which He came down from heaven - to pay for the sin of mankind and bring a reunion with God the Father. Yet He said “except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead”, by which time He has accomplished everything and brought Father to Glory in every aspect. After resurrection people should know that He is the Lord God, the Son of God the Second person of the Holy Trinity, the visible form of God, whom they condemned and put to a cruel death, because they did not know, because they did not want to accept Him even from the miracles He performed and mainly because they did not want to accept His teaching. This happens even today. People are more concerned in enjoying the benefits of this world and living luxury lives with all comforts without giving any consideration to the poor who are living around us, forgetting there is an eternal life after death.

Prayer Starter

God our Loving Father, we pray that we will be filled with Your Holy Spirit to know You better and know Your Great Love and the Salvation You have offered to everyone of us, to repent for all our sins and accept, for our soul to live with You as our Father, in Your Love for the rest of the time into infinity. Father, we Thank for Your Grace granted to us as the initial deposit of Your Great Love to have Faith in You and for Your Word full of promises for us. Help us to develop our Faith with the Help of the Holy Spirit and Trust Your Great Love for us and follow all Your Commandments to enjoy our lives here on earth under Your Love, so that we can always have Hope and depend on You in prayer for everything and be full of Your Love.

Loving Father grant us all this in the Lord Jesus Christ charged disciples name of our Saviour and Lord Jesus not to divulge what happened on the Christ, Amen mountain, as people who hear it may try

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Sunday 19th February 2017

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary time Ps. Week III Leviticus:19/1-2,17-18 tive in getting us back on track. That is the measure of His merciful love.

Psalm: 103/1-4,8,10, Today's proclamations is all about 12-13 1 Corinthians: 3/16-23 our call to holiness, a description of what holy love is all about, how God Matthew: 5/38-48

Introduction When God decided to create man in His own image, He did not and never intended to keep anything back. By creating us male and female God laid the foundation for us to image His love. We are very clever at interpreting God's love in the way it suits us. What we would like God's love has all the characteristics that benefit us. While yearning for the benevolent, gratuitous and magnanimous love of God is quite understandable, we must not lose sight of the fact that God's love also has His characteristic of holiness incorporated. To pay no heed to this important aspect of God's love leads us into a lot of heartache. We begin to even doubt the existence of God or begin to doubt His love for us. But when we permit ourselves to become aware of the holiness of God's love, we begin to understand the simultaneous existence of divine providence and human suffering. God creating us in His image and likeness not only gave us the privilege of being like God in a passive sense but also gives us the responsibility of actively becoming like Him of our own free will. In this latter task we more often than not fail time and time again. As the Entrance antiphon states, the more we fail the more God takes the initia-

has empowered us to love with His own holy love.

Entrance Antiphon Lord your mercy is my hope, my heart rejoices in your saving power.

I will sing to the Lord for His goodness to me.

The First Proclamation

The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy." You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart.

Though you may have to reprove your fellow man, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

Prayerful Awareness Let us gaze at Jesus reading this short passage form the Old Testament. God His Abba had chosen a people who had been slaves for centuries to image His love. Would He not have been awestruck at the sheer audacity of the task that His Abba had undertaken? Now His Abba has willed that He Jesus, show the whole of humanity that it was possible for mere man to rise to the task. Jesus begins His mission by making a social statement of the standard of His Father's love. Let

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us read the Gospel proclamation ..... His utmost to make His dream for Gospel Proclamation each and everyone of us come true.

The Second Proclamation You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a Do you not know that you are tooth for a tooth'. But I say to the temple of God, and that the you, offer no resistance to one Spirit of God dwells in you? If who is evil. When someone strikes anyone destroys God's temple, you on your right cheek, turn the God will destroy that person; other one to him as well. If anyone for the temple of God, which you wants to go to law with you over are, is holy. Let no one deceive your tunic, hand him your cloak as himself. If any one among you well. Should anyone press you into considers himself wise in this service for one mile, go with him age, let him become a fool so as for two miles. Give to the one who to become wise. For the wisdom asks of you, and do not turn your of this world is foolishness in back on one who wants to borrow. the eyes of God, for it is written: You have heard that it was said, "He catches the wise in their own 'You shall love your neighbor and ruses," and again: "The Lord hate your enemy'. But I say to you, knows the thoughts of the wise, love your enemies, and pray for that they are vain." So let no one those who persecute you, that you boast about human beings, for may be children of your heavenly everything belongs to you, Paul Father, for he makes his sun rise or Apollos or Cephas, or the world on the bad and the good, and caus- or life or death, or the present or es rain to fall on the just and the the future: all belong to you, and unjust. For if you love those who you to Christ, and Christ to God. love you, what recompense will Our Sonship you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your By granting us the great gift of brothers only, what is unusual His Holy Spirit to dwell within our about that? Do not the pagans do very being, He has ensured that the same? So be perfect, just as we have all that is required for our your heavenly Father is perfect. journey towards holiness. We need the gift of daily prayer to unite ourGaze at Jesus selves with the heart of God. Let us The standard that Jesus sets make a recommitment to "My Hour" Himself is none other than the per- with God. fection of His Abba. He intuitively Prayer Starter discerns the nature of His Abba's love. Cryptically stated God's love O Lord Holy Spirit! Grant us the can be described as a covenant gift of constant awareness of Thy where fulfilling of God's part is loving direction. Guide me from not dependant on man's positive moment to moment so that each response. Whatever our response moment will be one in which I do God will continue to love us and do Thy Holy Will.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Monday 20th February 2017 Sirach: 1/1-12 Psalm: 93/1-2, 3 Mark:9/14-29 The Gospel Proclamation When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.

When the whole crowd saw him, they were immediately overcome with awe, and they ran forward to greet him. He asked them, "What are you arguing about with them?" .... "Teacher, I brought you my son; he has a spirit that makes him unable to speak, and whenever it seizes him, it dashes him down and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they could not do so." .... "You faithless generation, how much longer must I be among you? How much longer must I put up with you? ...."How long has this been happening to him?" ....

"From childhood." .... Jesus said to him, "If you are able! - all things can be done for the one who believes." .... "I believe; help my unbelief!" .... but Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up and he was able to stand.

When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" He said to them, "This kind can come out only through prayer."

Prayerful Awareness "All things are possible to him who believes." It is the faith that Jesus had in His Divine Father that helped Him to work out all the miracles that He performed. If we too have the same belief we too will be able to succeed in all the good work that we try to do but fail to accomplish. One reason why the apostles failed to cure the boy who was possessed by the devil was their lack of faith in

God. The other fact that is essential according to Jesus is prayer. According to this case, Jesus Himself said, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but by Prayer." To Jesus, who lived a life of prayer, everything was possible.

This may be one reason why we, living in the Church today, do not experience the gifts of the Holy Spirit much, unlike the church of the Apostolic era.

Today we are taken up by modern technology and various glamorous events like fashion parades and film festivals that get the attention of the people in the modern world, so much so, that we have very little time for the spiritual, like spending some time in prayer in the presence of Jesus.

This incident of the boy possessed by the devil shows that Jesus has power over Satan, who tries to cause pain and suffering to human beings. If everyone leads a life pleasing to God, Satan will have no power to harass them. Furthermore, human beings who lead a life of prayer will have power to drive Satan away and undo his work and win souls for Jesus. Such people of prayer have been blessed by God with the miraculous power of physical healing and inner healing too. The devil tries to lead people astray - away from God by his cunning and crafty temptations. He can and does work through modern technology such as the internet to ensnare and mislead the people who use it, specially the youth.

The only effective defense against such wiles and snares of Satan is a spirituality based on prayer and the Holy Scriptures.

They should also look up to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints and ask for their intercession and also try to emulate their lives.

Prayer Starter Your faith in God is proved when faith finds a way to love. You serve as one who cares. Put action to your prayers.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Tuesday 21st February 2017

St. Peter Damian

Why were the disciples afraid to ask Jesus about His prediction of His DEATH? Perhaps it was because the last time they reacted to JESUS' sobering words, they were SCOLDED The Gospel Proclamation (Mark 8/32, 33). In their minds Jesus They went on from there and seemed morbidly preoccupied with passed through Galilee. He did not DEATH. Truely it was the disciples want anyone to know it, for he was who were WRONGLY preoccupied teaching his disciples, saying to constantly thinking about the Kingdom them, "The Son of Man is to be be- they hoped Jesus would bring and trayed into human hands, and they THEIR POSITIONS in it. If Jesus will kill him, and three days after died, the Kingdom as they imagined being killed, he will rise again." But it, could NOT come. So they preferred they did not understand what he was not to ask Him about His predictions. saying and were afraid to ask him. Caught up in their constant struggle for Then they came to Capernaum, PERSONAL SUCCESS the disciples and when he was in the house he were embarrassed to answer Jesus' asked them, "What were you ar- question.

It is not wrong for believers to be guing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had INDUSTRIOUS or AMBITIOUS. argued with one another who was But when ambition pushes obedience the greatest. He sat down, called the and SERVICE to one side, it becomes twelve, and said to them "Whoever SIN. Pride or insecurity can cause us to wants to be first must be last of all overvalue POSITION and PRESTIGE. and servant of all." Then he took a In God's Kingdom, such motives little child and put it among them; are DESTRUCTIVE. The only safe and taking it in his arms, he said to ambition is directed towards Christ's them, "Whoever welcomes one such Kingdom, not our own advancement. child in my name welcomes me, and Jesus taught the disciples to welwhoever welcomes me welcomes not come children. This was a new apme but the one who sent me." proach in a society where children were usually treated as second-class citizens.

Prayerful Awareness It is important not only to treat children At times Jesus limited His public well, but also teach them about Jesus. ministry in order to train His disciples, Children's ministries should never be in depth. He knew the importance of regarded as LESS IMPORTANT than equipping them to carry on, when He those for adults. returned to heaven. It takes time to Prayer Starter learn. Deep spiritual growth is NOT INSTANT. If even the disciples needed Heavenly Father, thank You that in to lay aside their work periodically in Your love, You invite us to accomplish order to LEARN from the MASTER, Your acts of love, service and kindness how much more do we need to ALTER- here on earth. You use humble servants NATE WORKING and LEARNING. to do great work.

Sirach: 2/1-11 Psalm:37/3-4,18-19 Mark: 9/30-37

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Wednesday 22nd January 2017 1 Peter: 5/1-4 Psalm: 23/1-6 Matthew: 16/13-20 Chair of St. Peter Jesus Himself invested Peter with the right to sit in His place as the head of the disciples. Jesus gave him, as He did so, servant-authority over the whole Church.

It is the Episcopal dignity and universal primacy of that high office instituted

by Our Lord Himself that we venerate today - not the worm-eaten oak chair used by Peter. Today's feast implicitly affirms Catholic teachings concerning the papacy. In the reigning Pope the Church recognizes and honours the legitimate successor of St. Peter as pastor of the whole Church. "Ex Cathedra" - meaning "from the chair" - refers to papal pronouncements (very rarely made) whereby the Pope infallibly defines a doctrine that is irrevocably binding on all the faithful.

The Gospel Proclamation Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Chair of St. Peter Prayerful Awareness We celebrate Peter's Chair today.

Chair means office and we celebrate Peter's Office. We also call to mind his pre-eminent position in the Church.

Christ gave him to us as the guide and teacher of the Christian faith. He is indeed the centre of unity. He is named and appears the first of the disciples. All four gospels show him as one of Jesus' disciples. The care of the whole flock of Christ was entrusted to him. He appeared as the head of the early or Young Church and he was aware of his responsibility and full of the power of the Holy Spirit.

The replacement to Judas - yes, it was proposed by Peter. On the day of Pentecost Peter spoke to the crowd. It was he who challenged the authorities saying the disciples would boldly bear witness to the Risen Lord in spite of their orders. He was instrumental in admitting Cornelius and his family, the first Gentiles, to the Church. "After promising that the gates of hell, or error, or evil would never conquer His Church, Our Lord made the first of the most open confessions of His coming death. He had already given many veiled hints concerning it; but the apostles had been slow to recognize that the Messiah would suffer as Isaiah had foretold. They missed the full implication of what He said when He cleansed the temple, that He was the Temple of God and that the Temple would be destroyed.

They had missed His teaching about the serpent lifted up as a prophecy of how the Son of Man would be lifted up on the cross. But now that whom He had chosen as the Chief of His Apostolic Body had confessed His Divinity, He openly showed them that the way to glory both for Him and for them led to suffering and death." (Archbishop F.J.Sheen).

Prayer Starter Help us to know You better and bear witness. Amen.

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Thursday 23rd February 2017 Sirach: 5,1-10 Psalm:1/1-4,6 Mark: 9/41-50 The First Proclamation of God’s Love Do not put your confidence in your money or say, 'With this I am self-sufficient.' Do not be led by your appetites and energy to follow the passions of your heart. And do not say, 'Who has authority over me?' for the Lord will certainly give you your deserts. Do not say, 'I have sinned, but what harm has befallen me?' for the Lord's forbearance is long. ...Do not winnow in every wind, or walk along every by-way (as the double-talking sinner does). Be steady in your convictions, and be a person of your word.

Fix your gaze on Jesus Thank you Lord, for you are indeed Good; indeed Great! I would give you thanks for your benevolence every day of my life...

We should constantly remind ourselves that we are 'Spiritual Being experiencing a human condition'. In other words, we are Intelligence/Energy, housed 'for now' within a material body.

Our life experience (taste) is primarily based on our choices within; the thought patterns we habitually select, that which we consider to be true and valid, generates the 'Life Taste'.

The scriptures say that 'As a Man Thinketh in his heart, so is he'; the Lord Buddha says 'What you think, you become'. This reveals to us that 'Our inward thinking, our choices as to the thoughts and beliefs we select, matter a great deal'.

Thus, the need to become aware of our momentary choices becomes critical for us to generate/ create a better life taste.

With that in mind, let's look at

St. Polycarp today's scripture. God, our beloved Creator, our Maker, who knows us completely (much better than we know ourselves), is trying to convey to us, His creatures, what and how to think. S/He is sad to see the sorry state we're in, due to faulty thinking patterns.

Let us examine a few of the instructions given. 'Do not put your confidence in your money or say, 'With this I am self-sufficient.' This thinking is based on the premise that money can buy security and happiness. Meaning, the 'power' to make you happy rests on things / persons / circumstances outside of yourself. Were we to follow this belief, and act accordingly, we are sure to find a few instances of fulfilment; but you definitely won't find lasting gratification or satisfaction. So we would search for 'another something' to taste that satisfaction. Again and again, we will meet with fleeting experiences of gratification. This is likened to chasing a mirage. This is the promise of the Liar who holds out a seeming truth, but which is in reality an empty promise.

The truth in this respect is two-fold.

In our interactions with our fellow-man, we create value, and money is a result of that value creation. We are the creators, and we should abstain from worshipping our own creation. Secondly, happiness is an inner choice, which we need to consciously exercise. Our fallen thinking; that of projecting the power to make us happy to the outside, has to be changed, so that we could 'Rejoice in all things' as St. Paul explains the experience. If you want to be happy in all circumstances, just change your thinking!

Prayer Starter Thank You O Lord for creating us to be powerful. Now, evolve us towards exercising this power and experiencing it in our day-to-day lives.... Alleluia

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Friday 24th February 2017

Sirach:6/5-17 Psalm:119/12,16,18, 27,34-35 Mark: 10/1-12 Prayerful Awareness Let us read each of today’s verses in Psalms and invite the Holy Spirit.

Praise be to you Lord teach me your decrees.

I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

Cause me to understand the way of your precepts, that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.

Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart.

Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.

The First Proclamation Pleasant speech multiplies friends, and a gracious tongue multiplies courtesies. Let those who are friendly with you be many but let your advisers be one in a thousand.

When you gain friends, gain them through testing, and do not trust them hastily. For there are friends who are such when it suits them, but they will not stand by you in time of trouble. And there are friends who change into enemies and tell of the quarrel to your disgrace. .... When you are prosperous, they become your second self, and lord it over your servants, but if you are brought low, they turn against you, and hide themselves from you. .... Faithful friends are beyond price, no amount can balance their worth. Faithful friends are life-saving medicine; Faithful friends are a sturdy shel-

ter, whoever finds one has found a treasure. Faithful friends are beyond price, no amount can balance their worth. .... Those who fear the Lord direct their friendship aright, for as they are, so are their neighbors also.

Prayerful Awareness From the reading in Sirach, we can see the fallibility of human nature.

When it comes to relationships there are always issues of trust, honesty, loyalty etc. Even in a great friendship, it is quite likely that there may have been occasions of misunderstanding and even periods of great falling out.

Divorce, now that is considered one of the greatest occasions when relationships do not work out. However, unlike other relationships, the relationship bonded through marriage is sacred. God intended for the sacredness of marriage from the very beginning. Divorce is therefore a breaking of God’s law, not man’s (with some considerations given in exceptional circumstances by the church).

Given the fallibility of human nature, is God asking for the impossible from the man and woman who are “no longer two, but one flesh” through marriage? It is also possible for two people that are married outwardly to be inwardly separated, yet Jesus said “Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” God’s calling for those who are married cannot be taken lightly.

Who we need to trust and depend on is God, not our spouse. Marriage is more about our relationship with God, than the relationship with our spouse.

Prayer Starter Lord help us to surrender to You, to follow You and obey Your decrees, so that we may not stumble in the dark but walk in the light of Your Word. We know when we keep Your Law, You Law will keep us!

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Saturday 25th February 2017 Sirach: 17/1-15 Psalm: 103/13-18 Mark: 10/13-16 The First Proclamation The Lord created human beings out of earth, and makes them return to it again. He gave them a fixed number of days, but granted them authority over everything on the earth. He endowed them with strength like his own and made them in his own image. He put the fear of them in all living beings, and gave them dominion over beasts and birds. Discretion and tongue and eyes, ears and a mind for thinking he gave them. He filled them with knowledge and understanding, and showed them good and evil. He put the fear of him into their hearts, to show them the majesty of his works. And they will praise his holy name, to proclaim the grandeur of his works. He bestowed knowledge upon them, and allotted to them the law of life. He established with them an external covenant, and revealed to them his decrees. Their eyes saw his glorious majesty and their ears heard the glory of his voice. He said to them, "Beware of all evil." ....

Gospel Proclamation And people were bringing children to Him that He might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this He became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it”. Then He embraced them and blessed them, placing His hands on them.

Prayerful Awareness Lord said, “Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child” that is to say, in total dependence upon and

obedience to the Gospel, God’s Word.

We must ask ourselves, how obedient are we to God, His Commandments and His Teaching. In St. Mathew 18: 3 - 5 Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Who ever humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me”. Children are innocent and pure in heart unless they are made corrupt by some one else - by actions of or by the influence of, a sinful person. We elders should Guide them and Train them to do good and be obedient to God’s Teachings. This is why in Proverbs 23 : 6 it is said “Train a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not swerve from it”. But, if we train them to do wrong, we will have to answer Lord for the entire life of that child and the wrong we do to the society through such child. This is why Lord said in St. Mathew 18: 6 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

Therefore as Christians, followers of Lord Jesus, we have a great responsibility and to be always alert to ensure safety of the children, to protect them from all ills of the society.

Prayer Starter God our Loving Father, we Thank You for all the children brought into this world as a heritage of the Lord as stated in Psalm 127 : 3. Help us to understand Your Great Love through them, and nurture them to know You and Your Love and grow in Your Love. Bless them all, protect them all and make them all grow to become True Witnesses of Your Love and become workers to help spread Your Word and Your kingdom. We ask all this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Sunday 26th February 2016 Isaiah: 49/14-15 Psalm: 62/1, 2, 5-8 1 Corinthians: 4/1-5 Matthew: 6/24-34 Introduction What are our most basic values in life? Is it just what we want to have or is it what we most want to be? What is life about? Is it a matter of getting what we have not got? It has been proven time and again that riches do not fulfil its promises. When a very rich man died, someone asked how much he had left. "Every red cent," was the answer.

"You can't take it with you," as the cliche, goes. Then there are examples of individuals who made more than they could possibly spend during their life time but died alone and desperately lonely and unlamented. In contrast we have the example of mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi who just kept giving themselves to others and were mourned by millions. The proclamations of today speak to us of a value which is freely available whatever your state may be economically, socially, academically or spiritually. It is an inherent value that is given us from the moment we are conceived in the heart of God. It is the priceless value of being precious to God our Creator. Those of us who have experienced being precious to our Creator God our Father can sing the Entrance Antiphon .....

Entrance Antiphon The Lord has been my strength; He has led me into freedom. He saved me because He loves me.

The First Proclamation But Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." Can a mother forget her infant,

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Ps. Week IV be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.

Prayerful Awareness Isaiah in the First Reading speaks of Israel as feeling abandoned and forgotten by God in its times of trial. The response comes in one of the tenderest passages in the whole of the Bible. The feelings of abandonment of the Israeli people would have been very real. To experience being forsaken and being forgotten is not in the least pleasant. It would be relevant to ask ourselves as to how Jesus who descended to the lowest levels of abandonment felt when He uttered the heartrending cry, "My God, my God why have thou forsaken me?" Did he hear within His heart the reply of His Abba: "Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you?" Let us take a moment and gaze at Jesus on the cross and then hear Him uttering the following words in the Gospel proclamation .....

The Gospel Proclamation No one can serve two masters.

He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn

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from the way the wild flowers grow.

They do not work or spin but I tell you that not even Solomon in his entire splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will He not much more provide for you? O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear'. All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself, Sufficient for a day is its own evil.

Gaze at Jesus Jesus from on the cross teaches us that what gives lasting happiness, peace and joy is not so much through what you earn and strive for. Rather they are available as free gifts. Take for example happiness, peace, freedom, contentment, wonderful friends, a supportive family? Does having money guarantee us these things? Are they not available even to those who have little or no money? Life itself is a precious gift from God. In order to enjoy these gifts Jesus tells us that we need to make an important choice. That is the choice between allegiance and fidelity to God or Mammon. We have to make a choice between God's vision of life and a preoccupation with money and possessions. They are not compatible.

They involve conflicting goals in life and different visions of what is most important in life. Jesus chooses God's vision for His life and gives it up trusting His Abba who promises not to forget Him. We know that Jesus' trust was not misplaced. Paul having the example of Jesus, spells out how he has decided to face the challenges of living

as a servant of Christ and steward of the mysteries of God ......

The Second Proclamation Thus should one regard us; as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself; I am not conscious of anything against me, but I do not thereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord. Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God. Our sonship Reading through the above we come to realize that Paul's identity, his mission, his sense of worth and how he is judged is all in relation to God in Christ. His whole life revolved around God and His kingdom. Are we up to the challenge posed by Paul's response?

Those of us who are courageous enough to say yes are entrusted with a mission by God. "What is expected of stewards is that each one should be found worthy of God's trust." We should simply be too busy doing God's work to have time to worry about the non-existent future. As the saying goes, "Let go and let God".

Prayer Starter Lord Holy Spirit give us the grace to trust in You and the gifts that Thou has bestowed on us as we engage in the task of building the Body of Christ in our Christian community and spreading the Gospel message of God's Love .....

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Monday 27th February 2017 Sirach: 17/24-32 Psalm:32/1-2, 5-7 Mark:10/17-27 Gospel Proclamation As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. …But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were greatly astounded and said to one another, “Then who can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”

Jesus’ sonship Jesus knowing what God destined for Him as it is said in Romans 8:29 “that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters”, guides the rich youth to do as God wills, to share His wealth among the needy. Jesus wanted the youth to realize that God could achieve greater things in his committed life by following Him.

Gaze at our sonship The season of lent begins next week.

Lent is the season of opportunity to reflect on our excesses, by way of wealth, in habits and in our pursuits towards happiness. In prayer, if we seize this opportunity to sincerely meditate on our personal pursuits, Holy Spirit will assist us discover the redundancies that hinder us from following Christ. Therefore, reading the story of the rich youth prior to the season of Lent helps us not be surprised like him to do what Jesus is asking from us.

Prayerful Awareness Lord we are thankful for the words in Sirach 17:24-26 that reassures us of the blessings of ‘return’.

Yet to those who repent He grants a return, and He encourages those who are losing hope. Turn back to the Lord and forsake your sins; pray in his presence and lessen your offense. Return to the Most High and turn away from iniquity, and hate intensely what he abhors.

And the guidance in Ps 32: 1-2 & 5-7 that acknowledges the power of sincere repentance.

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD. And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Therefore, let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them.

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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Tuesday 28th February 2017 Sirach:35/1-12 Psalm: 50/5-8,14,23 Mark:10/28-31

The First Proclamation The one who keeps the law makes many offerings; one who heeds the commandments makes an offering of well-being. The one who returns a kindness offers choice flour, and one who gives alms sacrifices a thank offering. To keep from wickedness is pleasing to the Lord, and to forsake unrighteousness is an atonement.

Do not appear before the Lord empty handed, for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the commandment.

The offerings of the righteous enriches the altar, and its pleasing odor rises before the Most High. The sacrifice of the righteous is acceptable, and it will never be forgotten. Be generous when you worship the Lord, and do not stint the first fruits of your hands. Give to the Most High as he has given to you, and as generously as you can afford.

Prayerful Awareness The theme of today’s reading is sacrifice. What does ‘sacrifice’ really mean?

According to Dictionary.com sacrifice is “the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim”.

The Gospel Proclamation Peter began to say to him, "Look we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hun-

dredfold now in this age - house, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions - and in the age to come eternal life. but many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

Prayerful Awareness As humans on earth we are naturally inclined to value our home, family, our own life and livelihood. Yet, Jesus asks that we do not prize these things above Jesus Himself and the gospel. As Christians we need to desire Jesus and the gospel above all else. Yet, whenever there is a sacrifice there is also a gain. What do we gain when we sacrifice the things of this world for Jesus and the gospel? “Eternal life” and “hundred times as much in this present age”.

Gaze at Jesus Born as a human Jesus showed us what sacrifice means. Jesus lived a life of sacrifice from the moment He was born as a human, emptying of Himself and ultimately sacrificing His own life because humanity’s redemption of sin was of a higher and more pressing claim.

Prayer Starter "Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"

The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge.

"Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, will testify against you. I am God, your God. Nor for your sacrifices do I rebuke you, your burnt offerings are continually before me.

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.

Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me, to those who go the right way, I will show the salvation of God."

"The Lord is with you. Be awake!"

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