REFLECTIONS TODAY First Reading • Is 45:1, 4-6 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp, subduing nations before him, and making kings run in his service, opening doors before him/ and leaving the gates unbarred. For the sake of Jacob, my servant, of Israel my...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus assures his disciples that if they must stand trial for their faith before Jewish or pagan courts, the Holy Spirit will provide for their defense. The Spirit is the Paraclete sent by Jesus, the advocate, the helper, the “Spirit of truth” bearing witness to Jesus...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Scriptures see the human being as an embodied spirit. When a man dies, his body decays, but something of him exists: his psyche (translated as “life” or “soul”). There is death which is the end of existence on earth; there is also the “second death” which is the end of...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The prophet Zechariah was the son of the priest Jehoiada; he was ordered killed by King Joash of Judah for telling the people that because they have abandoned the Lord, the Lord has abandoned them. He was stoned “in the court of the house of the Lord” (2 Chr 24:21). King...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Luke 10:1-9 The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Being close to poor folks and those considered as sinners does not make Jesus shun the company of the more respectable in society. In the Gospel, he sits at table as guest of a Pharisee. To the Pharisees, ritual cleanliness is very important; a person must wash his hands...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Many people in the crowd are not content with the miracles (“signs”) done by Jesus. They do not undergo repentance (metanoia), as their hearts remain unchanged. A “sign” is an action or event whose presence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Matthew 22:1-14 [or 22:1-10] Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables, saying, “The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY When Mary and his relatives come to speak to Jesus as he teaches the crowd, Jesus declares that his family is composed of “those who hear the word of God and act on it” (Lk 8:21). Jesus is not repudiating his mother and his family. But he emphatically declares that...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Beelzebul or Beelzebub is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshiped in Ekron, and later adopted in the Bible as a major demon (2 Kgs 1:2-3). The name Beelzebul is associated with the Canaanite god Baal. Luke simply uses the name as synonym for Satan. The...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The heart of the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples is the very first word: “Father!” This corresponds to the Aramaic word abba. In Luke, whenever Jesus speaks to God in direct speech, he addresses him as “Father!” which reveals his familial intimacy with God. In...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The key to the prayer lies in our relationship with God. God is not some distant stranger. The Israelites to whom God revealed himself considered him as wholly “Other”—the Creator and Savior, the Almighty who dwells in the high heavens. The people looked at God with awe and...
