REFLECTIONS TODAY At the beginning of the new year, the Church places us under the protection of Mary, Mother of God. In and through Mary, human participation in the divine plan of salvation is most tangible. Every mother, in a special way, participates in the birth, growth, and development of a...
BETTER DAYS Every year priority is given to our education sector when it comes to the crafting of the national budget. There can be no argument as to the need to spend on education. It is a fundamental human right and the return on investments made here are significant and far-reaching. As in...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Lk 2:22-40 [or 2:22, 39-40] When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord... Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous...
REFLECTIONS TODAY At the time of Jesus, Nazareth was a relatively isolated agricultural village north of Jezreel Valley. It is never mentioned in the Old Testament. No wonder, Nathanael from Cana expresses bewilderment when Philip tells him that they have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Unlike Matthew who presents the Holy Family fleeing Bethlehem to escape the murderous design of King Herod, Luke presents a story different in content and tone— the peaceful presentation of the child Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple. Mary and Joseph are presented as a couple...
The Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) is a welcome development. It envisions a restructured, modern, well-managed and environmentally sustainable transport sector aimed at providing drivers and operators with stable, sufficient, and dignified livelihoods, thus enabling commuters...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Gospel reading tells the resurrection story involving Peter and the “disciple whom Jesus loved.” He “outruns” Peter not only in running to the tomb but also in believing that Jesus is alive. His intimacy with Jesus makes him receptive to the signs in the empty tomb....
REFLECTIONS TODAY Lk 2:1-14 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Lk 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Luke 1:46-56 Steeped as he was in Scriptures, the evangelist Luke would know that God’s greatest act—the sending of his Son in the fullness of time—would have to be celebrated in a song. For minstrel, he has found someone most fitting, one who had experienced...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Luke presents the birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus in parallel events as they develop in separate scenes. In the Visitation, he now brings the most important characters together in one setting. We have Mary meeting Elizabeth (and Zechariah); but more importantly, the main...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Luke 1:26-38 The annunciation to Mary parallels that of the annunciation to Zechariah in the temple. Both form a diptych, that is, parallel panels which present two stories side by side in order to show similarities and contrasts. The basic steps in the...
