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Scripture Reflections

I do not know if John Paul II chose the Second Sunday after Easter to be also Divine Mercy Sunday because of the Gospel reading for this Sunday or for some other reason, but certainly the celebration of God’s Divine Mercy goes well with today’s Gospel.

 

Pope Francis in his Apostolic Exhortation, ‘The Joy of the Gospel’, states, “There are Christians whose lives seems like Lent without Easter”. Are we that?

 

Saturday, 08 April 2017 12:37

Palm Sunday - 2017

Today is Palm Sunday and the beginning of the Holy Week. This week is the highlight of our Liturgical Year as we commemorate the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, through His death and resurrection, raised us to fullness of life.

This is a very involved story with layers of meaning spread throughout the text. First of all, there is the note from the sisters, a simple enough message stating their concern for Lazarus who is sick and their implicit trust that Jesus cares, for they say, “He whom you love is ill.”

The gospel this Sunday is a long story about a man born blind who is given sight by Jesus. It is a long story because the Gospel writer tells in detail the thorough examination that the Pharisees had to make to ascertain whether Jesus had broken the Sabbath or not.

In the National Rugby League’s (NRL) Footy Show, a slightly irreverent show about the players of the NRL, they have a segment called “Perfect Partners” where they ask the wives or girlfriends of the NRL players and try to match their answers ...

Peter’s exclamation in today’s Gospel reading catches my attention dear friends. The Church invites us today to reflect upon the Transfiguration of Jesus and to touch upon the experience of his three disciples ‘up the mountain.’

The Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent, in all three years of the lectionary cycle, is devoted to the temptation of Jesus in the desert.

There are two lovely statements about trusting God in today’s readings. In the first reading from Isaiah God says: Does a woman forget her baby at the breast, or fail to cherish the son of her womb? Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you.

One Jewish philosopher once said, “If we follow the law ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’, we would all end up blind and toothless.”

 

The Gospel reading today invites us to look at the Letter of the Law with the eyes of Love. Dear friends, as we read today’s Gospel, one thing becomes very clear; Jesus has come to fulfil the Law and not to abolish it (Matt 5:17).

Have you ever imagined having a sumptuous dinner without salt? Salt has become a very important part of human life since time immemorial.

Today’s Gospel is the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon “on the Mount” (according to Matthew – “on the Plain” according to Luke) – an extended instruction for his disciples.

 

Today’s Gospel text focuses on two events: the beginning of Jesus’ preaching in Galilee and the choice of the first apostles. Mark tells the story of each event in a very brief way.

A few years ago I talked to my cousin from the United States over the phone and we chatted for quite a while. While she knows me, while I know that she knows me but somehow in her voice somehow she sounded a little bit bewildered.

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