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THE FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness: there he was tempted. In the desert Jesus is confronted by the forces of evil on three occasions and is subjected to severe temptations in the depth of his soul. The devil meets him face to face and, in an effort to turn him away from God’s plan of redemption, offers him false happiness with enticements of security, power and fame. None of these temptations got the better of him and he emerged victorious, but after a prolonged struggle. Temptation is a real test and the worst thing about it is that it is always an attraction. When tired and hungry, it would have been easy for Jesus to turn stones into bread for his own comfort and allow his feelings to influence his actions. The temptations of Christ are those faced by all Christians. They test our faith and force us to make decisions either for or against God. As followers of Christ, we must be ready to stand and be counted as we are constantly at risk from the evil one. Because Jesus experienced temptation himself, he understands us in our weaknesses and is there to give us hope and encouragement. |
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THE EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME From what is in the heart, the mouth speaks. The lesson on how dangerous it is to pass judgement on others stands at the heart of today’s gospel message from St. Luke. Jesus was never in the business of judging others. Instead, He used words to heal, restore and to bring back life, joy and hope. Our striving to imitate the Lord and produce the fruits of good living is seriously hampered when we allow judgemental attitudes to take root in our lives. The honest and perceptive Christian will pay more attention to personal shortcomings, knowing that it is only with God’s help that they can be overcome. |
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THE SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME I give you a new commandment: love one another just as I have loved you. One of the key tasks facing any Christian community is to put into action the gospel of forgiveness, by refusing to harbour thoughts of hatred and revenge for our enemies. Anger, bitterness and resentment are the moral cancers of our age and set us on the road that leads to disaster and destruction. We have long memories for injuries inflicted and a frightening capacity for nursing old wounds, all of which poison our spirit and destine us to a life of misery. While the world goes its way of retribution and revenge this gospel tells us that the standard of behaviour for a follower of Christ is the way of friendship and love. The real test of love is the regard we have for those we find little reason to like; those people who are bent on insulting us and causing us harm. |
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THE SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Rejoice and leap for joy; for surely your reward is great in heaven. The Beatitudes are such a familiar part of the gospel that when we hear them read during the liturgy we can easily miss their meaning. The message they contain may take a lifetime to learn, but unless we take it to heart there will be no entry into the kingdom of heaven. They explain how to spend this life in order to attain everlasting happiness in heaven. Following Christ is not meant to be easy and it is a challenge we must face every day. We are invited to do things that do not come naturally to us like being humble, showing mercy and opening our hearts to those in need. The message is challenging for us because it is at odds with our customary way of thinking. Many of us who profess Jesus to be our Saviour, live life without any thought for our religious beliefs. As we face the task of developing a proper relationship with God, we are frightened by the deep demands which the beatitudes make on us. We are called not to worship wealth, food or comfort, but to worship the God who alone can grant us all good things. |
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THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Come follow me, says the Lord, and I will make you fishers of people. What happened to Peter is what happens to us. When we recognize our own sinfulness the power of Christ becomes available to enrich us, so that we can offer ourselves to God, faults and all. The discovery of our spiritual poverty opens our souls to receive what God is offering and awakens us to an awareness of his call. We should not be looking for God in strange places because he speaks to us in ordinary situations where he finds us, in the humdrum bits and pieces of our every day experiences. We are more likely to hear his call in our pain than in our plenty. When we discover the hand of God at work in our lives, the impossible becomes possible. The challenge facing all of us is to detect the voice of God in our lives and to have the courage and generosity to answer promptly. Jesus wants us to go through life with our hand in his hand. |