miracles of Jesus Christ

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Monday, 21 July 2014 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we who belong to the race of mankind are prone to the kind of fault that we witnessed today in the Gospel. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked Jesus to show them miraculous signs and supernatural deeds to prove that what He was doing is legitimate, in a sense that is to impress them with His powers and miracles.

But Jesus did not want to entertain and let them indulge in their demands, as He knows perfectly the weakness of men, most evident in the behaviours and actions of those Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. Yes, we mankind like to be impressed and we often like to be awed because we often feel inferior about ourselves and insecure about ourselves.

That is why we have our fears and desires in life, but these are not necessarily good or beneficial to us. Our fear and our insecurities lead us to be fertile ground for the devil to spread his seeds of faithlessness and doubt. That was why the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, who were so concerned about threats to their esteemed and respected positions in the society, that they did all they could to bar and disrupt the works of Jesus, whom they saw as a great rival to their authority.

That was why, they tried to discredit Him, and were blinded such by their insecurities, fears, and desires, they asked for something which Jesus had abundantly showed them through the times whenever He performed His good works to the people. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law should have been the ones who know the most of who Jesus was, through the numerous miracles and good works He had done. But they did not, because they, in their adamant and hardened hearts and minds, refused to believe in Him.

The same can also be applied to the rest of us, mankind, brothers and sisters. Yes, for mankind also shared the same insecurities, desires and weaknesses as those Pharisees and teachers of the Law once had. However, we have the opportunity for all those of us who are still in this world, to change our ways for the better. The Pharisees had their chance and they spurned it, and gave even worse troubles for the Lord and His disciples.

We like to be awed by someone who possess greater might, intellect and someone who can give us that feeling of security and satisfaction. But if we are not careful, we will fall into the paths prepared for us by Satan, who will definitely use everything in his arsenal of lies and deception to persuade us. You see, brothers and sisters in Christ, that not only the Lord can impress us with His goodness and might, as Satan can do so as well.

Satan has the world in his dominion and disposal. He has all the pleasures and wonders of this world, which we all know well enough, in order to sway our thoughts and ideals to match that of his ways instead of following God’s will. If our hearts are too attached to this world and all its corruptions, and if our minds cannot be disengaged from such perversions, we will fall prey to the works of the evil one, who tries to subvert the faithful to himself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today we celebrate the feast day of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, a priest of southern Italian city of Brindisi, who lived during the late Renaissance era, at the time of the Counter-Reformation crusades and works against the heresy of Protestantism and many other divisions in the Church. St. Lawrence of Brindisi joined the Franciscan order, and during his life of service to God, he worked hard and zealously to spread the word of God and advance the cause of God’s Church.

The Pope in particular noted his zeal and dedication in service to God and His Church. As a result, the Pope appointed him to many works and duties that St. Lawrence of Brindisi took most seriously. And one of the many works which he was entrusted with, was to preach to the people of God, first called of all, the Jews, in order to bring them into the true faith in Jesus.

St. Lawrence of Brindisi is a role model to us all, because he served as the antithesis of what the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law did in today’s Gospel reading. St. Lawrence of Brindisi was faithful just as the Pharisees and the others were blinded by their own insecurities and fears to the point of doubting the very presence and good works of Jesus, which was truly apparent before them, and yet they did not see the truth.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all emulate the examples and the zealous works of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, surrendering ourselves to the will of God, and following His will, may we all be the ones to proclaim the Lord’s greatness and majesty to all of the world and its people, so that we may come together to love and serve the Lord. May God bless us all, all the days of our life. Amen.

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Monday, 21 July 2014 : 16th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Priests)

Matthew 12 : 38-42

Then some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees spoke up, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” Jesus answered them, “An evil and unfaithful people want a sign, but no sign will be given them except the sign of the prophet Jonah. In the same way that Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man spend three days and three nights in the depths of the earth.”

“At the judgment, the people of Nineveh will rise with this generation and condemn it, because they reformed their lives at the preaching of Jonah, and here there is greater than Jonah. At the judgment, the Queen of the South will stand up and condemn you. She came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and here there is greater than Solomon.”

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Wednesday, 11 June 2014 : 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. Barnabas, Apostle (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Red

Matthew 10 : 7-13

Go and proclaim this message : The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. You received this as a gift, so give it as a gift. Do not carry any gold, silver or copper in your purses. Do not take a traveller’s bag, or an extra short, or sandals, or a staff : workers deserve their living.

When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave. When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people in the house deserve it, your peace will be on them; if they do not deserve it, your blessing will come back to you.

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Sunday, 30 March 2014 : 4th Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or Rose (Laetare Sunday)

John 9 : 1-41

As Jesus walked along, He saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, “Master, was He born blind because of a sin of his, or of his parents?”

Jesus answered, “Neither was it for his own sin nor for his parents’ sin. He was born blind so that God’s power might be shown in him. While it is day we must do the work of the One who sent Me; for the night will come when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

As Jesus said this, He made paste with spittle and clay, and rubbed it on the eyes of the blind man. Then He said, “Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.” (This word means sent.) So the blind man went and washed and came back able to see.

His neighbours, and all the people who used to see him begging, wondered. They said, “Is this not the beggar who used to sit here?” Some said, “He is the one.” Others said, “No, but he looks like him.” But the man himself said, “I am he.”

Then they asked him, “How is it that your eyes were opened?” And he answered, “The Man called Jesus made a mud paste, put it on my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went, and washed, and I could see.” They asked, “Where is He?” and the man answered, “I do not know.”

The people brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made mud paste and opened his eyes. The Pharisees asked him again, “How did you recover your sight?” And he said, “He put paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.”

Some of the Pharisees said, “That Man is not from God, for He works on the Sabbath”; but others wondered, “How can a sinner perform such miraculous signs?” They were divided, and they questioned the blind man again, “What do you think of this Man who opened your eyes?” And he answered, “He is a Prophet!”

After all this, the Jews refused to believe that the man had been blind and had recovered his sight; so they called his parents and asked them, “Is this your son? You say that he was born blind, how is it that he now sees?” The parents answered, “He really is our son and he was born blind; but how it is that he now sees, we do not know, neither do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is old enough. Let him speak for himself.”

The parents said this because they feared the Jews, who had already agreed that whoever confessed Jesus to be the Christ was to be expelled from the synagogue. Because of that his parents said, “He is old enough, ask him.”

So a second time the Pharisees called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Tell us the truth; we know that this Man is a sinner.” He replied, “I do not know whether He is a sinner or not; I only know that I was blind and now I see.”

They said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” He replied, “I have told you already and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

Then they started to insult him. “Become His disciple yourself! We are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses; but as for this Man, we do not know where He comes from.”

The man replied, “It is amazing that you do not know where the Man comes from, and yet He opened my eyes! We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone honours God and does His will, God listens to him. Never, since the world began, has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

They answered him, “You were born a sinner and now you teach us!” And they expelled him. Jesus heard that they had expelled him. He found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “Who is He, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said, “You have seen Him and He is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe”; and he worshipped Him.

Jesus said, “I came into this world to carry out a judgment : Those who do not see shall see, and those who see shall become blind.” Some Pharisees stood by and asked Him, “So we are blind?” And Jesus answered, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty. But you say, ‘We see’; this is the proof of your sin.”

Alternative Reading (shorter version)

 

John 9 : 1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38

As Jesus walked along, He saw a man who had been blind from birth.

As Jesus said this, He made paste with spittle and clay, and rubbed it on the eyes of the blind man. Then He said, “Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.” (This word means sent.) So the blind man went and washed and came back able to see.

His neighbours, and all the people who used to see him begging, wondered. They said, “Is this not the beggar who used to sit here?” Some said, “He is the one.” Others said, “No, but he looks like him.” But the man himself said, “I am he.”

The people brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made mud paste and opened his eyes. The Pharisees asked him again, “How did you recover your sight?” And he said, “He put paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.”

Some of the Pharisees said, “That Man is not from God, for He works on the Sabbath”; but others wondered, “How can a sinner perform such miraculous signs?” They were divided, and they questioned the blind man again, “What do you think of this Man who opened your eyes?” And he answered, “He is a Prophet!”

They answered him, “You were born a sinner and now you teach us!” And they expelled him. Jesus heard that they had expelled him. He found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “Who is He, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said, “You have seen Him and He is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe”; and he worshipped Him.