DATE: 7TH JULY 2017 FRIDAY OF THE THIRTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME FIRST READING: Genesis 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67 PSALM: Psalm 106:1-5 GOSPEL: Matthew 9:9-13 THEME: THE LORD WILL SEND AN ANGEL BEFORE YOU

God always sends angels to guide us on life’s journey but often we regard divine interventions as coincidences. However, as someone rightly put it: “A coincidence is when God performs a miracle but chooses to remain anonymous.” The beautiful things that happen in our lives are no mere luck; they are signs that we do not walk alone. God is with us.

In our First Reading, Abraham sent one of his servants to his home country to find a wife for Isaac, his son. The servant immediately saw the hurdle in that mission and asked a practical question: "Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?" (Gen. 24:5). Abraham, however looked beyond the hurdle and focussed on God’s ability: “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The LORD, the God of heaven…will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there”(Gen. 24:6-7). True to the words of Abraham, the Lord guided the servant to find a wife, Rebekah, for Isaac.

Often we limit our faith in God’s ability by dillydallying with a lot of ‘what ifs’. The fear of failure saps strength and makes one to mark time at the same spot – no progress. Consequently, some refuse to take the needed first step to get to where they ought to be in life. The statement of Abraham is a powerful guiding principle – “The LORD will send an angel before you”.

Do you have a major decision to take or a choice to make? Pray to God and trust him to guide you. No one ever trusted God and was disappointed. If things do not work out the way you expect, God will make them work out in ways you least expect.

PRAYER: Eternal Father, you are the loving shepherd who never leaves his flock untended. You guide your own and lead them besides still waters. May you send forth an angel to show me the steps I should take that I may arrive at the place you have always desired for me. For the sake of Christ I pray. Amen

DATE: 5TH JULY 2017 WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME FIRST READING: Genesis 21:5, 8-20 PSALM: Psalm 34:7-8, 10-13 GOSPEL: Matthew 8:28-34 THEME: THE LORD HEARS THE CRY OF THE POOR

A normal routine of a catholic priest is to listen compassionately to the lamentations of God’s people. As a father (perhaps that is why they are called fathers), a priest would attend daily to God’s children. Some come crying because they cannot pay their school fees; others come because they need financial help to get to the hospital; those with broken hearts in relationships also come with their plights. Others come seeking for ‘shelter’ away from boiling family issues. Sometimes, he becomes the object of transference of harboured anger against God. The challenges/problems of God’s children often render many priests speechless and humanly-speaking powerless with a gentle cry in their hearts: God where are you?

Where is God when trials come? Where is God when things go wrong? Where is God when all is not well with his children?

The scene of Hagar roaming aimlessly in the wilderness of Beersheba and subsequently leaving her crying child under a shrub to die evokes feelings of rejection, helplessness and hopelessness in the reader of the text. These feelings suddenly change when God enters the scene of the narrative. We are told that God heard the cry of the baby and a messenger from heaven brought Hagar this message: "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the cry of the boy where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him fast with your hand; for I will make him a great nation."  (Gen. 21:17-18). By this statement, the Lord revealed that he had a plan for Ishmael.

There is a plan concerning each one of us. Plans, however, unfold with time and God is the master of time. The period (i.e. meantime) between where we are now and where God has destined us to be is often a moment when our faith is tested. It is akin to sojourning in the “wilderness of Beersheba”. However, the God who heard the cry of Ishmael still hears the cry of every helpless child of his. Yes there is a plan. Even if it takes time, prayerfully wait upon the Lord. The big problem you see in the meantime would turn out to be your testimony at the right time.  Something good is coming your way.

PRAYER: Eternal Father, my heart will not be troubled even though trouble besets my heart for in you I have placed my hope and you have placed me on a solid rock called Jesus Christ. Amen
   

DATE: 4TH JULY 2017 TUESDAY OF THE THIRTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME FIRST READING: Genesis 19:15-29 PSALM: Psalm 26:2-3, 9-12 GOSPEL: Matthew 8:23-27 THEME: THE LORD OUR RESCUER

On February 2, 2017, a good number of media houses in the US carried the story of a woman by name Shelby Carter, who in the face of a raging fire that was consuming her house in Illinois, chose to save her 12-day old daughter by strapping her with a car seat and tossing her out of a second story window. The baby was rescued but the woman died in the process through carbon monoxide intoxication from smoke inhalation. The heroic act of this woman gives us a taste of compassion. Compassion moves you to save. Therefore, to say that God is compassionate means he would do everything within his means to save us.

In our First Reading, we have an account of a compassionate God who sets out to save Lot and his family from an impending sulphurous inferno upon Sodom and Gomorrah. At a point in time during the rescue mission, Lot, according to the text, was hesitant. However, the men sent by the Lord, “seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city” (Gen. 19:16). In sum, the Lord virtually 'snatched' Lot and his family from disaster.
 
The Gospel text also gives an account of a compassionate Lord who rescued his disciples from a violent storm that broke over the lake. In fact, their boat was swamped by the waves. Upon hearing their cry, “save us Lord, we are perishing”, we are told that Jesus “rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm” (Matt. 8:26).

From the two Scripture texts above, we can confidently say that the Lord is able to deliver. Are you faced with a big problem? Is a raging fire heading towards your direction? Are you being submerged by the storms of life? Courage, the God who rescues from fire and water is with you. Call upon him and he would rescue you.

The Lord of compassion says to each one of us: “When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isa. 43:2).

PRAYER: God of mercy and compassion, save my feet from the miry clay, lest I sink. Rescue me from the countless troubles that surround me. You are my strength and salvation. You are my only hope in this situation. For the sake of Christ, I pray. Amen

DATE: FRIDAY, 3RD JULY 2017 FEAST OF ST. THOMAS, APOSTLE FIRST READING: Ephesians 2:19-22 PSALM: Psalm 117:1-2 GOSPEL: John 20:24-29 THEME: DOUBT NO LONGER BUT BELIEVE

A priest lifts up what appears to be a “white bread” during Mass and with audacity declares, “Behold the Lamb of God; behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” At that instant, the “Thomases” in the congregation begin to shrug with discomfort and murmur within their hearts, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe" (Jn 20:25).

When it comes to matters of faith, we are all “Thomases” in one area or the other.  There are certain articles of the Christian faith that are mind-boggling and our “scientific minds” cry out for evidence. Thomas, in our Gospel text, sought for tangible evidence to ascertain the veracity of the claim that Jesus had truly risen from the dead. From that perspective, we can say that Thomas was a seeker. After eight days of waiting, he got the evidence he had been longing for when the Lord revealed himself again to the community of faith gathered. Thomas, with a renewed faith, affirmed the resurrection and divinity of Christ in these words: “My Lord and my God.”

What can we learn from the experience of Thomas in moments when we are plagued with doubts?

1. Wait upon the Lord. A time of waiting upon the Lord purifies our hearts and minds and prepares us for the “Kairos” – i.e. the Lord’s appointed time of revelation. In the case of Thomas, he had to wait for eight days. It is not stated, in our Gospel text, what he did during those eight days. However, it is highly plausible that he spent those days of waiting in prayer.

2. Wait within the community of faith. Thomas had a doubt about the resurrection of Christ but did not abandon the community of faith. The fact that you have doubts about one or the other article of faith does not mean you should walk out of the Church. In fact, it was right within the community of faith that the Lord revealed himself to him and his faith was renewed.

3. Express your renewed faith. Thomas’ expression of faith, “My Lord and my God”, was a declaration of complete trust in Jesus. According to tradition and the history of the Church, the faith of Thomas took him as far as India proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ there. Later on in life, he would die as a martyr. In the same way, when the Lord renews our faith, we ought to express it in words and actions.

As we celebrate the feast of St. Thomas, the apostle, let us pray that our faith in Jesus may bring light to a world that is steeped in doubt and faithlessness.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, may my faith in you never flicker and die. As I wait on you daily, deepen it and let its light dispel the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief. Amen