Tag Archives: sacraments

MAKING THE MOST OF WHAT YOU HAVE

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Saturday 16th May – Saturday of the 6thweek of Eastertide

Reflection: Acts 18: 23-28

MAKING THE MOST OF WHAT YOU HAVE

It is an irony of life that the little a man has and considers as an excuse for failure is all another man grabs to give an amazing success story. Surely, the mind that dwells in failure will always find more than enough reasons for its sustenance. If we would truly manifest as sons and daughters of God; if we are to position ourselves for greater blessings of God, we must start maximizing the seemingly little opportunities and privileges we have in life.

In today’s first reading, amidst the many positive attributes mentioned of Apollos, there was something of special interest about him: “he had only experienced the baptism of John.” John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance (Acts 19: 4), it did not confer the sacramental grace of a new birth which the baptism of water and the Spirit instituted by Christ does. (John 3: 3-7; Matthew 28:19, CCC 720). Little wonder St. Paul considered it necessary to later baptise Apollos and his colleagues though they were already participating in the activities of the Church (Acts 19: 1-6). Before Apollos’ proper initiation, into the family of God, through the Sacrament of Baptism he had fully disposed himself to the service of God. He was fully maximizing the grace available to him by his acceptance of the Good news!

Beloved, have you been baptised? Have you received the sacrament of confirmation? Do you partake in the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ? How well are you making the most of the indispensible graces received in these sacraments? Let us this day do away with the myriad of excuses we often give and begin to maximise the opportunities and privileges we have in life. It is only by doing this that we can prove ourselves ripe for greater upliftment in life.

PRAYER: For all you have given me, I say thank you Jesus. For the privileges I have wasted, I ask for your mercy. Strengthen me oh Lord that I may cooperate with You to make the most of all that You have blessed me with! Amen.

KNOW YOUR FAITH: CCC 1131 – The sacraments are efficacious sings of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions.

HIDE A TREASURE: “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” Galatians 6:7 RSV-CE

Readings for today: Acts 18: 23-28; Psalm 47: 2-3, 8-10; John 16: 23-28

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BE OPEN TO GRACE

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Tuesday 14th October – Tuesday of week 28 of the year

Reflection: Luke 11: 37-41

BE OPEN TO GRACE

Through different encounters of Jesus with the Pharisees and other religious leaders in His time, the gospels bring to our awareness the fact that Jesus’ often had to speak against their way of living. Though they were Israel’s leaders and teachers, most of the Pharisees had begun to embrace the law merely as rituals and ceremony rather than looking deep into the meanings of such rituals. In today’s reading, Jesus’ neglect of the ceremonial washing surprised His Pharisee host. In reply, Jesus went on to condemn the external purifications that were devoid of their internal significance.

As Catholics we have Sacraments; which are outward signs of inward grace given to us by Christ. Unlike the rituals prescribed in the Old Testament, the Sacraments are efficacious that is, they bring about what they signify. Hence, in Baptism, water symbolises the cleansing of sin and a new birth in Christ but it does not stop at a symbol, it actually cleanses us from sin and makes us children of God.

Dear friends, as we embrace the Sacraments, especially confession and the Holy Eucharist which we receive repeatedly; let us prepare ourselves for the transformation they bring, open our hearts and minds to the grace they offer us and cooperate with this grace so that our daily lives will reflect the transformation that goes on inside of us.

PRAYER: Thank you Jesus for the great grace you offer me. Help me to approach you the Sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist often and let the grace I receive strengthen me to live a holy life. Amen.

KNOW YOUR FAITH: YOUCAT 174 – Why is faith in Jesus Christ not enough? Why does God give us the sacraments, too?

We can and should come to God with all our senses, not just with the intellect. That is why God gives himself to us in earthly signs—especially in bread and wine, the Body and Blood of Christ.

 HIDE A TREASURE: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in Him” John 6:56 RSV-CE

Readings for Today: Galatians 5: 1-6; Psalm 119: 41-48; Luke 11: 37-41

DEDICATED FOR A PURPOSE

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Sunday, 2rd February – Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Reflection: Luke 2:22-40

DEDICATED FOR A PURPOSE

Happy Sunday beloved in Christ. Today, the universal Church celebrates the presentation of the Lord in the temple. The culture of dedicating a new born child after 40 days of birth can be likened to this glorious occasion. Many Christians see this merely as a routine and end up misplacing its values and significance. This trend also occurs with the Sacraments of the Church which give grace but sometimes lie fallow due to our unpreparedness in receiving them. Do we really know and appreciate what we have?

Friends, to be dedicated to God imprints on us God’s stamp of ownership. This puts to us that we have a specific assignment to accomplish in life just as Simeon and Anna resounded God’s salvation when the child Jesus was dedicated in our reading today. (Luke 2:30-32, 38). To fulfill God’s plan for our lives, we need to constantly rededicate ourselves to Him. This act of faith keeps us renewed in grace to pass the test of time. Since our body is God’s temple (1Corinthians 6:19), we need to constantly make it habitable for God by our conscious rejection of every stain which sin brings. Let us allow God to use us as He pleases by our effort to stay pure and blameless in our world full of temptation.

Stay blessed and have a wonderful week ahead.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I rededicate myself to you today, help me to accept your call to live a holy life and fulfill your plans for me.

KNOW YOUR FAITH: CCC 1131 – The Sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions.

HIDE A TREASURE: “So then, my brothers and sisters, because of God’s great mercy to us, I appeal to you: offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him.” Romans 12:1 GNB

Readings for today: Malachi 3:1-4; Psalm 24:7-10; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40