1^st Sunday of Lent

Gen. 9: 8-15; Psalm 24; 1 Pt. 3: 18-22; Mark 1: 12-15

Read: “I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant I make between myself and the earth. When I gather the clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will recall the covenant between myself and you and every living creature of every kind. And so the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all things of flesh.”

“The time has come and the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Gospel”.

Reflect: The sacred author of the Book of Genesis makes use of the story of the great flood of the time of Noah., not to teach that God loses His patience and punishes – God never brought about the flooding nor any other disaster – but to encourage us not to lose heart in the face of the evil that exists in this world. Even when evil appears to surpass all limits, man that has faith in God will still have hope, because he knows that God decided to create human nature afresh, not from the ashes of man, but from the destruction of the evil society created by man. God does not lose heart in the face of evil. He mends and builds afresh. He starts a new humanity and promises only good things and every blessing: “I will make a new covenant with you, that never will any living creature be destroyed by flood waters; and never will there be a flood to ruin the earth”. God does not vouch that He will not punish mankind on condition that he does not sin again. However, He committed Himself that He would give His blessing always and in every case. This is a message of consolation that the Bible sends from its very first chapter: God does not wait for mankind to become good before He is generous with all. He greets every person as it is, and with love; changes that person to a new creation.

Pray: “Let me God, open my mouth in the presence of your mercy, though I am dust and ashes. Let me therefore, speak because it is your mercy that I will be talking to, and not to a person who will scold me. Probably, initially You will think of scolding me but then You turn to me mercifully”. (St. Augustine, Confessions 1,6)

Act: Confident that this God approaches us as we are, let us therefore accept Jesus’ invitation in the Gospel: “God’s Kingdom has come; repent and believe the Gospel”.  Let us do this by, during Lent, by depriving ourselves of something to be given to the poor; reading and reflecting on, in advance, the readings that will be accompanying Mass; trying to make an act of charity daily; praying for our neighbour; and using all means that could bring us closer to God’s mercy.

6^th Sunday of the year – Year B

Lev. 13:1-2, 45-46; Psalm 31; 1 Cor. 10:3-11; Mark 1:40-45

Read: A leper came up to Jesus and pleaded fervently, fell on his knees before him and said “You can cure me if you wish!”. Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him saying “Of course I want to, be cured!”

Reflect: Our God nears those who are lepers spiritually ….. sinners, he gets close to those who are psychological lepers through sadness, solitude, tension, fear; he approached also those who are lepers physically …… every kind of sickness. On these the Lord places his hand, because for him none of his earthly beings is a leper, more so his children, human beings. Jesus chose those who were lepers and abandoned by everybody; for this reason, “he took on himself all our illnesses”. To do so, he was led away to be crucified and killed outside the Holy City, in a place considered not to be holy. Therefore, if we fell in any way tainted by any form of ‘leprosy’, let us have the courage to say to the Lord: “You can cure me if you wish!”. And Jesus will also tell us: “Of course I want to, be cured!”

Pray: O Lord, you can interpret our inner feelings. We harbour fears, suffer sickness, also are sinful, and even lose heart. If you wish you can heal us! Come near us.  You, who are full of mercy. Talk to us, touch us and heal us. Make us the same as the healed leper, making your mercy known to all.

 Act: As we have seen, Jesus did not reject lepers; he used to cure them. He does the same with us. But he used to ask two things of them. That they approach him full of faith, and that they show themselves to the priests, as evidence of their healing. He asks the same from us. Let us approach our Lord with faith, seeking from a priest in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, so that, in the name of God, he will give us the grace of healing, by bringing to us God’s forgiveness.

5^th Sunday of the year – Year B

Job 7:1-4, 6-7; Psalm 146; 1 Cor. 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39

Read: “Praise the Lord who heals broken hearts”. “Jesus healed many sick from all sorts of ailments, and drew out a large number of devils whom he did not allow to talk, because they knew who he was”.

Reflect: In Christ it is possible for us to contemplate God’s answer to the problem of suffering. God is not indifferent to mankind’s cries when suffering. Our God asks us “Do not stay away from those with a broken heart, but cry with whoever is heart-broken” (Sirach 7:34), because he too suffers, cries, and is emotional. He hears our pleas, and comes to share with us our situation caused by pain and suffering. He takes sides with us in our battle against evil, and teaches us how to change these situations into an opportunity to build love.

Pray: “The following morning, early before daybreak, Jesus woke up and went out to a distant location and stayed there praying”. It is during this dialogue with his Father that Jesus was enlightened so as to be able to tackle the sufferings of mankind. Let us pray that we are enlightened to handle our own suffering, and that of others, with faith, hope and love.

 Act: Let us confront suffering not by bemoaning our ill luck, blaming ourselves, or others or other reasons, or by trying to find an explanation, but by seeking God’s help that we may undergo suffering with faith, hope and love. Every time we dry a tear, we will be participating in the salvation brought to us by Jesus. 

4^th Sunday of the year – Year B

Deut. 18:15-20; Psalm 94; 1 Cor. 7:32-35; Mark 1:21-28

Read: “And the Lord said to me: ‘……I will raise up for you a prophet like yourself, from among yourselves; I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall tell you all I command him’”. “On the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and began to teach. His teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority”.

Reflect: The Acts of the Apostles show us that, with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, all the disciples became ‘prophets’ (Acts 2:17-18). Every Christian, enlightened by the Gospels, is able to discern God’s will and to pass this on to others. At times we hear priests, parents and Christian teachers say that they are disappointed because, according to them, when they urge their children to embrace Christian values, it appears that all falls on deaf ears.  Perhaps they question if the Word of God has lost its force? If the word does not change hearts and minds, then it is not the Word of God, but that of human beings. At times we preach to ourselves, and our own convictions, and we think that we are proclaiming the Gospel. The good exhortations and warnings that emanate from common sense and from the world’s wisdom, appear to be useful, but these never make wonders. Miracles happen only if the proclaimed word is that of the Master.

Pray: Pray that the Lord will fill us with His Holy Spirit so that we will not preach to ourselves, but hear His word.

 Act: If on problems concerning health; the economy, politics and other matters that all have an ending, we pay so much attention to what is said by experts, then how much more should we take cognizance of what is said by the expert above all experts concerning matters that are everlasting. Let us from this day forward take more seriously all that is said to us by the Master Jesus.

3^rd Sunday of the year – Year B

Jonah 3:1-5, 10; Psalm 24; 1 Cor. 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-20

Read: “The time has been consummated, and God’s Kingdom has arrived; repent and believe in the Gospel”.

Reflect: In the beginning of his book, St. Mark presents Jesus as the messenger whose mission is to announce the Gospel, the good News, to the people. News which is so wonderful, that it awakens much joy in those who hear it.  There are two conditions necessary for those who hear the news to feel this joy; one needs to repent and believe. To repent does not mean having the determination to avoid sin but is, above everything else, a decision radically to change the way one looks at God, at our brethren, at the world and history. The news “God’s Kingdom has arrived”, is not a message that the time for expiation has arrived, but is good news of hope for everybody, even for the worst sinner, who God continues to consider as being like a son. To believe means that one starts seeing everything through the eyes of a God who loves, is patient, takes time to be angry, full of compassion and wishes well to all his creations. To believe means having trust in God; to have faith in His words and in His promises. God’s Kingdom has arrived; therefore, there is no time to waste: let us repent and believe in the Gospel!

Pray: Let us pray with the Psalmist: Lord, make me know your ways, teach me your paths. Make me walk in your truth, and teach me, for you are God, my Saviour.

 Act: “Time is short”. Let us use the time lent to us by God by looking for occasions when we can grow in love and our union with God and with our neighbour, whoever that may be.

2^nd Sunday of the year – Year B

Sam. 3:3b-10, 19; Psalm 39; 1 Cor. 6:13c-15a, 17-20; Jn. 1:35-42

Read: The Lord came, stopped near him and, like other times, called: “Samuel! Samuel!”. And Samuel answered: “Speak, because your servant is listening”. One of the two who had heard what John had said and had followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. The first thing he did was to seek his brother Simon and told him: “We found the Messiah” – which means Christ. And he took him to Christ. Christ looked towards him and told him: “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” – or Peter.

Reflect: Nothing and nobody is anonymous before God who “counts the number of stars; he calls them all by name”. (Psalm 147:4) The name that God gives to every person indicates an identity, vocation, and mission. A vocation is no more than discerning that which we have been created to be, discerning our place on this earth and in God’s plan. This is not shown to us in dreams or visions. We discover this by recognising our inner feelings, where we hear the Lord’s word that is heard and is shown to us in our daily experiences, and through the “angels” who are close to us; those brethren who interpret for us His thoughts and what He wills for us. Saying “Here I am, I am coming to do Your will” means that you are being faithful to your identity, thus obtaining internal balance and joy. 

Pray: Lord tell me the name by which you called me before I was conceived in my mother’s womb. Here I am, I am coming to do Your will.

 Act: If you have found Christ in your life in such a way that you are ready to fall on his bosom like Andrew, take somebody else with you.